


The Dragon Speaker

by everythingsshiny



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, King!Erwin, M/M, dragon rider!Levi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-14
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-08-22 07:46:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8278252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingsshiny/pseuds/everythingsshiny
Summary: Erwin’s kingdom is at war. The Titan armies are moving in, and his most important asset – his corps of dragon riders – has been decimated.With his kingdom on the brink of defeat, Erwin makes a deal with Captain Ackerman, a disgraced dragon rider rumored to be a “dragon speaker” with uncanny skill for managing the beasts. With his help, Erwin hopes to gain the cooperation of a colony of feral dragons to help him defeat the Titans.But the loyalty of these dragons doesn’t come easily. And even more difficult to gain is the loyalty of the Captain himself.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this several months ago as a birthday present that very quickly got out of hand. But I sat on it for a bit, saving it in case I ever ran out of fics or went on hiatus. And now it appears I'm on hiatus. So I guess I'll throw this out into the world to keep everyone entertained while they wait for the rest of The Companion. 
> 
> Posting today because the Erwin week theme is "king" and Erwin just so happens to be a king in this. 
> 
> I haven't looked at this since I wrote it 7-8 months ago sooooooo hope it doesn't suck!

Erwin knows the contents of Mike’s report before a word leaves the aerial commander’s lips. Can almost read in the set of his brow the number of brave men and noble dragons that were lost.

Mike’s gaze finds Erwin from the doorway of the council room. Though the room is crowded, he doesn’t look at any of the other lords or military officers in attendance. He gazes at Erwin, his eyes empty, a brief and quiet “Your majesty” his only greeting.

“Commander.” Erwin returns Mike’s gaze with a nod, careful to keep his expression impassive. “Enter and make your report.”

Mike strides across the council room, past the anxious looks on the faces of the assembled nobles. These nobles crowd a large table, painted to look like a map of the country. In peacetime, this map may be dotted with markers of proposed locations for new castles or villages, or perhaps lined with a potential trade route. Now, the map bristles with militaristic figurines – of soldiers, knights, ships, and, of course, dragons.

Mike stops at the far edge of the table, by the western border of the nation. A cluster of blue dragon figurines watch over the wilderness there. Mike reaches out his hand to move the figures, but he hesitates, as if doing so will kill them all over again. “Lords and dignitaries of the council, as I’m sure you’ve heard, a large aerial force was ambushed two days ago by the Titans. We were outnumbered two to one and were forced to make a retreat.” Mike mechanically starts moving the dragons on the map, pushing them south and east. Then he takes away more than half of them.

A murmur rises up among the table as he pulls the figures off the map. “Commander,” someone speaks up. “You realize that each of those markers represents ten beasts and their crews?”

“I am aware, my lord,” Mike says softly. “In all, we lost forty fine dragons to death or capture, along with their captains and most of their crews.”

The rooms falls deathly silent. Forty dragons is more than a third of the aerial corps – a corps that had been a fraction of the size of the enemy’s to start with.

“I can also confirm-” Mike begins. He stops and swallows, unable to go on. Erwin notices a slight tremor in Mike’s hand. He has never before seen his calm, level-headed commander overcome with emotion like this. “I can also confirm the rumors about the Titan dragons,” he says. “It’s true that they’re cannibals.”

The silent room explodes with gasps and cries of outrage. Some nobles stand, shouting as though their words alone have the power to set things right. Others sit back in their seats, ashen-faced and hollow-eyed, despairing. Erwin understands their emotion, feels much of it himself, though he’s careful not to show it. Dragons are held in very high esteem, considered almost as intelligent as humans and twice as noble. Cannibalism among dragons is hardly less disgusting than cannibalism among men.

“How can we stop them?” someone demands, his frantic, high-pitched tone cutting through the rest of the noise. “If they eat their own kind, surely these beasts will eat humans as well. We have to keep them from getting any further into the country.”

“We can’t,” someone else says. “Only dragons can fight dragons, and we can’t risk the ones we have left.”

Other voices join the panic, and the debate crescendos until it’s no more than hysteria. Erwin doesn’t take any immediate steps to stop it. Instead, he blocks it out, allowing the shouting of the lords to become mere white noise as he studies the large map before him.

Figurines dot the map like pieces of a chess game, blue for Erwin’s forces and black for the Titans. It’s a game that’s well advanced, each set far from its original side of the board – and with the black set far outnumbering the blue. Black ships, the titan navy, spread across the southern seas, days away from engaging with the blue blockades that guard their harbors. In the east, black tokens occupy the land from the southern coast to the northern border. And now in the west, Mike lays out black dragons with hands that still tremble. All these forces form a loose ring around one point: Sina, the capital city and seat of Erwin’s rule.  

If this is a chess game, the Titans are only a few moves away from checkmate.

Erwin raises his hand, and with that simple gesture, the chaotic room falls silent to hear the king. A king that, according to reputation, is a master of strategy. Erwin’s council watches him expectantly, hoping for an ingenious plan that will save them from certain defeat. But today, Erwin simply doesn’t have one.

“Thank you for your report, Commander,” he says. “At ease.” From the corner of his eye, Erwin sees Mike step back. But he keeps his gaze on the council, calm and steady. They’re already shaken enough. They need a strong, confident king to stand before them, even if Erwin doesn’t quite fee like he fits that role.

“The highest priority is to protect Sina,” Erwin says, his voice strong and level. “If Sina stands, the nation may yet hold. Admiral Zoe.” Hanji, the leader of Erwin’s naval forces, looks up. “Your ships are outfitted with powerful, long-range crossbows. We need to take those bows off the ships and have them outfitted for dragon-back.”

“And leave my ships vulnerable?” the admiral protests.

“Your ships are also equipped with naval rams and with archers capable of shooting flaming arrows,” Erwin says. “That will have to be enough to protect the harbor. The Titans’ dragons pose a much more serious threat than their navy.”

Hanji nods, grim understanding in their eyes. Without the long-range crossbows, their fleet will be weaker, and more ships will be lost in the upcoming battle. But it’s a sacrifice that will have to be made if Erwin wants any hope of stopping the Titans’ aerial forces.

“Now. General Pixis.” Erwin turns to the leader of his army, a seasoned veteran who had been appointed by his father. “Your forces are responsible for preventing a siege from taking Sina. Keep the Titan troops away from the city at all costs.” Pixis nods his agreement, his mouth set in a firm line. “And Commander Zacharius, your dragons are to fall back. We cannot risk losing any more. Have the remainder of the corps group around Sina to patrol its airspace.”

“This approach will leave the countryside and outlying cities virtually unprotected,” a noble protests. “Can we really justify focusing all these forces on Sina if it means allowing the rest of the country to fall?”

“If we spread out our forces, the remainder of the country will fall regardless,” Erwin says. “If we concentrate them, Sina may yet hold out. And while Sina remains, the nation’s sovereignty stands. My lords, see that it is done. You are all dismissed. I would like the heads of each military branch to remain behind.”

The lords do little to disguise their displeasure as the file out. They mutter to one another in frustration, their words too quiet to hear but their tones speaking volumes. Erwin cannot necessarily blame them. His plan sacrifices the majority of the nation, and even if his forces succeed in holding the city, they will eventually have to take back the countryside in a series of long and costly engagements. Worse, the livelihood, freedom, and safety of thousands of people in country villages could be sacrificed.

It’s a sacrifice Erwin would give anything to not have to make.

The heavy wood door closes with a sense of finality behind the lords, their complaints still faintly audible beyond it. Before him, Mike, Hanji, and Pixis look at Erwin with uncertainty.

“I assume this is the part where you tell us the secret details that will guarantee the success of your strategy,” General Pixis says.

Erwin strides around to the northern side of the map, picking up three of the discarded blue dragon figures as he goes. He surveys the lay of the war – Titan forces closing in on his from every angle – while he absently places the figures in the north. “There are no guarantees anymore, General,” Erwin says. “But I do have some ideas.”

“Enlighten us, please,” Pixis replies.

“We have just under eighty dragons remaining in the aerial corps,” Erwin says, “But a force roughly equal to that number lives in the northern Maria Mountains.”

The room falls silent as Erwin’s military commanders realize what Erwin’s saying. One by one, he sees shock and something close to outrage creep across their faces.

“Erwin, we can’t hope to harness feral dragons quickly enough to bring them into the war,” Mike protests. “Finding corps members brave enough to try to ride them would be nearly impossible, and these ferals are likely to reject every potential captain we throw at them. You know that if a dragon doesn’t bond with its rider, there’s no way it will fight for us.”

Mike’s protests are well known to everyone in the room, even those that have never ridden a dragon. Dragons are, by their nature, not tame. They serve in the military only out of devotion to their riders. And in the most remote corners of the wilderness – such as the Maria peaks – they remain thoroughly feral, willing to kill human and animal alike for food. Few people have enough skill with dragons to gain the loyalty of a feral.

But some do.

“Commander, do you believe in Dragon Speakers?” Erwin asks.

Mike stares at him, aghast. “There are definitely some people who are more skilled at taming their dragons than others,” he says. “But no, I don’t believe in mythical people with an unnatural talent for dragons management. And I certainly don't think we can entrust the safety of this country to a half-proven fantasy.”

“Then what do you think of Captain Ackerman’s abilities?”

Erwin has never met this Captain Ackerman, but everyone in the nation has heard of him. The man drew the love of a powerful dragon at an early age and quickly gained a reputation as one of the most talented young riders the country had ever seen. But he had attempted desertion from the aerial corps only a few months ago. Not only that, but he had somehow convinced half a dozen dragons to leave their beloved riders and desert with him.

The bond between a dragon and its rider is one of the strongest emotional connections that exists. If this captain could convince loyal dragons to forsake that bond, perhaps he can convince ferals to forsake their freedom.

“That man’s a traitor,” Mike replies. “However skilled he may be.”

“And treason is punishable by death,” Erwin finishes. “But in such desperate times, exceptions must be made.”

“Wait.” Hanji leans forward, emphasizing each phrase by tapping their finger forcefully against the table. “You’re suggesting that you free a traitor, convince him to work for you, and then have him stride into a colony of eighty untamed dragons – some of which are rumored to be fire-breathers – and have him convince _them_ to work with you? This is a big gamble, even for you.”

“But it’s a gamble I am willing to make,” Erwin says. He meets the gaze of his officers, one after the other. “If any of you have a more plausible suggestion, I’m willing to hear it.” He already knows that no one does.

“Who’s going to lead this gamble?” Mike asks.

“I will.”

Pixis’s eyebrows shoot up, and an enigmatic smile spreads across his face. Hanji and Mike are less amused.

“We can’t risk you,” Mike protests over Hanji’s exclamation.

“Precisely. I will be out of the city when the attack comes, ensuring that I’m not killed in it. If the lawful king is not available to surrender, the nation does not officially fall. Besides, the troops in each of your branches will be facing a difficult battle. They’ll need their commanders’ guidance. Beyond all that, I don’t want anyone outside of this room to know about this plan.”

“Why not?” Hanji asks.

“The fewer people who know the truth the better in the event of capture by the enemy,” Erwin replies. He also knows that the Lords would cause an outcry, and that in less than twenty-four hours the plot would be the talk of the town – and there are bound to be some Titan spies hidden in Sina.

“Well, this is quite a plan, your majesty” Pixis says. “Very indicative of the kinds of crazy plans you’re so good at coming up with. I look forward to seeing how it works out.”

“Thank you, General,” Erwin says, though he disagrees somewhat with Pixis’s statement. His previous “crazy plans” had been thought out, every last eventuality accounted for. This was truly a shot in the dark, as likely to end in disaster as not.

Either this Captain Ackerman came through, or everything Erwin had fought for was lost.

*****

In the gray hours before dawn, one would hardly guess that Sina was a city at war. The streets are quiet, peaceful, untainted by the noise and smell of daytime crowds. There’s something almost otherworldly about. Erwin wishes that the sun would never rise.

He walks through his city with one guard, both of them in plain clothes. The few people they meet – night watchmen and a handful of shopkeepers opening their stores – don’t give Erwin so much as a glance. It’s a bit surreal to be assumed a normal citizen of Sina, walking down the streets without any of the recognition Erwin’s accustomed to as a sovereign.

Of course, Erwin hadn’t always been king. In fact, he had only reigned for two years, ever since his father had died in a battle against the Titans. But he’d grown up as the crown prince and, therefore, had lived his entire life as one set apart. Erwin’s early years had been spent studying how to lead his nation. Five years ago, when the Titans first attacked, had marked the beginning of a series of hard lessons on exactly what that meant – the hardest of which had been his sudden ascent to the throne upon his father’s death in  battle.

The Titans did not want only Erwin’s country; they wanted every country. With advanced military technology and dragons encouraged to be barbarous, the Titans had quickly swept through the continent, devouring every nation in its path. No one knew why the Titans were discontent with their native lands, why they felt the need to conquer the world. But they had an insatiable hunger for more land, more subjects, more resources. And from the reports Erwin had heard, new subjects rarely fared well under Titan rule. Erwin would die before allowing that that level of oppression in his kingdom.

Unfortunately, that fate seems more likely with each passing day.

His final hope for success in this war lies inside the military prison that he now approaches. A crumbling stone wall, worn black in some places with grime and age, hides the prison within, and two watchmen stand at its narrow front gate. Erwin hands one of these men a letter sealed with his royal crest – two wings sweeping upwards, with a crown hovering above them.

“Commander Zacharius with a royal order for the warden of this prison,” he says, using Mike’s name to disguise his identity. He and Mike are both tall and blond, and for many citizens, that’s enough to make them indistinguishable without the markings of their office. “After delivering this letter to the warden, please direct me to the cell of Captain Ackerman.”

The guard blinks sleep out of his eyes and looks in disbelief from Erwin to the letter in his hand. He holds the gold seal under nearby torchlight, as if unable to believe that he’s actually holding something from the king. “Uh, yes sir,” he stammers, pounding his fist to his chest in a hasty salute before hurrying inside.

Erwin’s left waiting only a few minutes before the guard returns. He gives another salute, his wide eyes indicating that he’s overwhelmed by the rank of the man before him. If only he knew. “The warden begs your pardon at not presenting himself, as he’s in no state to be seen by someone so distinguished at the moment. He asks that you do whatever the king requires of you. If you please, sir, I’ll show you to Captain Ackerman’s cell.”

“Very well, thank you,” Erwin replies.

The predawn light hasn’t yet made its way into the jail. The guard has to carry a torch in order to light the narrow, low-ceilinged hallways that Erwin’s tall form can barely fit through. Compared to the spacious castle corridors that Erwin is accustomed to, the dingy, close jail feels almost suffocating. He’s led to a small cell on the second floor. Through the barred window at the top of the door, Erwin sees a slight, dark-haired form sitting on a straw pallet.

“Unlock the cell and stand guard at the door,” Erwin commands.

“Yes, sir.”

A heavy key turns in the lock with loud clunk that echoes through the quiet jail, and the cell door swings open. Before Erwin lies a camped, dismal room, empty except for a bucket and the pallet the man sits on. Above them, a small window lets in thin bars of weak light. They brush the edge of the man’s jaw, revealing the shocking paleness of his skin. Erwin steps in, the sound of his boots startlingly loud against the stone floor.

The man can’t help but have heard Erwin, yet he doesn’t turn around. In fact, there’s no sign of movement, no acknowledgement of Erwin’s presence. For a moment, Erwin wonders if the man has lost his mind during his imprisonment. But no, there’s alertness in his posture. He knows that Erwin’s there. He’s simply choosing not to respond.

Erwin waits for a moment, giving the man a chance to react. When he doesn’t, Erwin opens his mouth to speak. Only then does this man, unexpectedly, break the silence.

“Where is my dragon?”

The voice startles Erwin. It’s deeper than Erwin would have expected from someone of such slight stature, and it rasps from lack of use. No trace of emotion makes its way into that voice. The question is stated simply, bluntly, and with perfect composure.

“Captain Ackerman, I presume.” Now the man turns, and Erwin gets his first true look at the captain.

Prison has not been kind to him. His skin is unnaturally pale and sallow, with deep hollows around his eyes and cracked, dry lips. But he sits erect on his dingy pallet, and there’s firmness in his expression that stops Erwin short. It holds nothing of the despondence that Erwin’s accustomed to seeing on the faces of prisoners. Instead it’s impassive, as emotionless as his voice. Captain Ackerman raises his gaze to make bold eye contact with Erwin.

“Where,” he repeats, “Is my dragon?”

“She’s safe. She’s being kept in an old dragon stable on the edge of town. Her restraints are minimal, and she’s being fed well,” Erwin assures him.

Captain Ackerman’s expression doesn’t change. His eyes study Erwin’s, as if trying to determine whether he’s telling the truth. “Are you here to bring me to my trial?” he asks eventually.

“No,” Erwin replies. “In fact, your trial has been postponed indefinitely.”

Now the first hint of expression creeps into the captain’s face. His eyes narrow the slightest bit, suspicious.

Erwin crouches down to be closer to Levi’s level, careful not to kneel fully on the grimy cell floor. The captain’s eyes follow his movements. “In the weeks since you’ve been jailed, the war has taken a turn for the worse,” Erwin explains. “The king has decreed that all those who can fight for their country will, regardless of past crimes. If you and your dragon do your duty well, you may receive a lenient sentence. If you attempt to desert again, you will be killed without trial.”

Erwin had expected relief at the offer of pardon. But he gets none. Instead, the captain continues to hold Erwin’s gaze, suspicion still in his eyes. “So I can agree to fight for you and die in battle, or I can disagree and die here.”

“Essentially,” Erwin replies. “There are gallows waiting for you now, if that’s the path you wish to take. I would only urge you to think of your dragon, forced to bear witness to your execution.”

A flash of anger crosses the captain’s face, an involuntary bearing of emotion, at the mention of his dragon. “You wouldn’t hurt her.”

“The war has driven us to desperate measures. We have no use for a rebellious dragon and not enough resources to feed one. If she refuses to take another rider shortly after your execution, we will have no choice but to execute her as well. She is, after all, as much of a traitor as you are.”

“You’re lying,” he hisses. “You wouldn’t waste a valuable dragon like that.”

“You have a choice, captain.”            

“Some choice.”

“Be that as it may, I must ask that you make your decision quickly. There are pressing matters to attend to.”

“Who are you, anyway?” Ackerman demands.

The guard is still within earshot, so Erwin continues his bluff. “My apologies, I did not properly introduce myself. I am your commander, Mike Zackarius.”

The captain considers Erwin for another moment before slowly rising to his feet. Erwin mimics his rise, drawing himself up to his full height, almost a foot above the captain.

Captain Ackerman touches his fist to his breast in a half-hearted salute, though the defiance in his eyes is anything but respectful. “Fine then, commander,” he says, almost spitting out the last word. “I’ll play your game.”

*****

Erwin leads Levi back through the streets of Sina. The captain walks at Erwin’s side unbound, with nothing but Erwin’s single guard to stop him if he gets the notion of escape. This is Erwin’s first test for Levi.

They return to the castle without incident.

As soon as they enter the castle grounds, Levi begins looking upwards. Erwin at first thinks the captain is marveling at the size of the castle, but Levi’s gaze is pointed away from the castle turrets and toward open sky.

“Your dragon was freed and sent for this morning at dawn,” Erwin says. “She should be arriving any moment.”

“Why are we at the castle?” Levi asks. It takes a pointed look from Erwin for him to grudgingly add, “Sir.” Dragon corps discipline is strict, and proper address emphasized. Erwin’s surprised the captain has to be reminded of it.

“This is where we’ll be departing from,” Erwin replies. He leads the way beyond the large castle keep and through a maze of outbuildings, passing stables and kennels and the barracks of his personal guard. Behind all of this sits a large pavilion, taller than a two-story building and almost as wide as the castle keep itself. A magnificent blue dragon with white edging on his wings lies in rest in the pavilion’s center. Humans bustle around the drowsing beast, packing bags and making last-minute preparations on a massive leather dragon-harness. As Levi and Erwin approach, the dragon rouses himself raises his head attentively.

“That’s your dragon,” Levi says, as much a statement as a question.

It’s pointless for Erwin to deny it – the dragon’s attention toward Erwin is answer enough for anyone who knows dragon mannerisms. “Yes.” Erwin raises a hand in greeting. The dragon’s green eyes perk up at the sight, and he cranes his head forward slightly to examine Levi.

“I thought you rode a green dragon.” And then Levi reluctantly adds, “Sir.”

Mike certainly did ride a green dragon, and every member of the corps would know that. Thankfully, the necessity for Erwin’s bluff is ending.

A distant sound of wingbeats, saves Erwin from having to explain. He says over the noise, “There’s a small enclosed office in the far right corner of the pavilion. As soon as you’re done reuniting, meet me in there.”

Erwin steps into the pavilion and crosses it, surveying the work of his crew members as they prepare his dragon to travel. He gives a brief greeting to the dragon, stroking his nose and giving him a few words of praise. The dragon nuzzles lightly against Erwin in return, a tap of his snout that, though gentle, is almost strong enough to knock Erwin over. A soft thud on the grass outside the pavilion signals the landing of another dragon, and Erwin looks up to watch the reunion.

The dragon closes the space between herself and Levi in a single, eager bound. Levi responds with a touch, stroking her snout and then laying his head across it. The dragon, in turn, curls her body around Levi in a protective circle. As Erwin watches, her green eyes droop closed in contentment.

The dragon is black, and she certainly is beautiful. She’s slighter than most other dragons, but with strength that’s obvious to anyone who knows what they’re looking at, perfectly proportioned and graceful. Her body coils around Levi with remarkable flexibility. It’s the captain, however, that holds Erwin’s attention.

Since the moment Erwin first saw him, Captain Ackerman had been rigid and cold, bordering on abrasive. But every bit of coldness melts away when his dragon arrives. His posture softens, shoulders slumping, body curling around the contours of her snout as he strokes her black scales with gentle, loving touches. Erwin can see the trace of a smile as Levi presses his cheek against his dragon’s hide. It’s a change so dramatic that Levi seems to be another person altogether.

Erwin glances back to his own dragon and finds him looking at Erwin almost sadly. He lowers his head on his forelegs with a soft sigh and closes his eyes, and Erwin’s unsure what to make of it. With one final glance back at the captain, Erwin continues to the office.

The office is, in effect, no more than a lean-to built up against one of the pillars of the pavilion, designed to give officers of the corps some privacy to freshen up before presenting themselves to the king. It consists of nothing more than a small table of dark wood, a chair, and a water basin for washing. Today there’s also a small bundle wrapped in burlap cloth, something Erwin had requested. Erwin glances at a map of the country that hangs above the table and studies it while waiting for Levi, plotting their course through the wilderness.

Levi enters several minutes later without so much as a knock. There’s no salute either, or any form of address. He stands just inside the door, looking expectantly at Erwin. The cold, hard edges of his usual demeanor have returned.

“Is your dragon’s health to your satisfaction?” Erwin asks, turning away from the map.

“Yes.” After a pause, he adds, “She says the dragon in the pavilion belongs to the king.”

“She says? Your dragon?”

“Yes.”

“Do you speak the dragon tongue, then?”

Levi rolls his eyes. “No human can speak the dragon tongue. I just know how to listen.”

Erwin comes around to the front of the table and leans against it, half-sitting on it. He and Levi are less than a foot apart in this tight space. “And is that why you were able to convince several dragons to desert? By knowing how to listen?”

“It’s amazing how people will be persuaded when they think they’re being listened to,” Levi replies simply.

“People? Don’t you mean dragons?”

“That’s another reason dragons listen to me,” he says. “I consider them people.” Then he adds, almost challenging, “You, as the aerial commander, must hold similar respect for dragons.”

“Indeed,” Erwin says. “And would you say your persuasive respect extends to ferals?”

Levi considers him for a moment before answering. “Probably. Why?”

“Captain Ackerman, I’m afraid I wasn’t entirely truthful about my purpose for recruiting you out of jail. I need you for a secret mission, and the jail wasn’t conducive for telling secrets.”

“That why you hid your identity?” Levi interrupts him. Erwin allows himself a mild expression of surprise, though he’s more than mildly shocked that Levi would be so blunt. “I know you’re not the commander. Who are you? Some assistant to the king? The servant who actually rides the king’s dragon?”

“I am the king.”

This gets an expression out of the stoic man, and Erwin’s somewhat pleased. Any moment he can make Levi drop his impassive mask is starting to feel like a small victory. Now, Levi’s eyes widen in shock, and there’s a brief intake of breath. “Bullshit,” he says.

“I would advise you to watch your language before your sovereign.”

“I don’t believe that you’re the king.”

“Why not?”

“The king would never go to a filthy jail and talk to a criminal himself. He has other people to do his dirty work.”

“Well, as much as I’d love to spend my days reclining in an ivory tower while being waited on hand and foot, we happen to be at war. And in such times, even kings must get their hands dirty.” Levi glares at him. “Regardless of whether or not you believe me, I need you to join me on a very important covert mission. Our aerial forces, as I mentioned to you earlier, have been decimated. We do not have enough dragons to defend the city, let alone the nation. Our only hope is to recruit the power of the feral tribes to the north, especially the fire-breathers among them. And you are the only man in the nation capable of that task.”

“Sorry to crush your dreams, but it’s not going to work,” Levi says. “No matter how hard I try to convince them, they have no reason to fight for you. They don’t consider themselves part of this country.”

“But they live within the borders of this country, and with another ruler in charge, there is a chance that their forests will be cut down, their privacy imposed upon. Besides that, the Titan dragons are cannibalistic. If they really are people, as you say, they’d want to defend their young and elderly from being eaten.”

“I thought that was just a rumor.”

“It’s been confirmed.”

Levi’s pale face grows a little paler.

“We depart in an hour. I took the liberty of requisitioning two proper sets of clothes for you.” Erwin unwraps the bundle on the table, revealing two sets of shirts, pants, and long tunics, as well as a pair of boots. At the moment, Levi wears the corps uniform he was imprisoned in, ragged and dirty from weeks in the cell. “Though I’m afraid they may be somewhat big. Use this room to change and wash yourself. When you are finished, relate the purpose of the mission to your dragon. If she is willing, she will be needed to carry supplies.”

“Do I still have any chance to say no?”

“Of course. The gallows are still waiting,” Erwin replies. “I trust you’ll make the right decision, for yourself and for your dragon.”

Levi glares. But he gives a curt nod, reluctant obedience.

“Excellent. See to it you and your dragon are ready to depart shortly.” Erwin straightens up and slides past Levi, maneuvering in the tight space to the door. Just before he steps outside, he remembers one final instruction. “Oh, and captain.” Levi looks up. “Now that you know my true identity, I expect the proper form of address. ‘Your majesty’ is, of course, preferred, but ‘my lord’ will do in more casual situations.”

As Erwin leaves he can feel Levi’s glare bore into his back, hatred that’s almost palpable.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The concept of an "aerial corps" of dragon riders comes from Naomi Novik's "HIs Majesty's Dragon," and a lot of credit for how I write dragon crews and dragon-based warfare goes to her (with some changes made, since her book takes place during the Napoleonic era and this is a medieval-inspired world). 
> 
> I only have three chapters of this done and I don't know when I'll have time to finish it, soooooo don't get too attached? I do plan on finishing it eventually, after The Companion. I'm aiming for 6-7 chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

If they were to fly directly to the Maria Mountains, their journey would be a matter of days. But flying dragons attract attention, and with the enemy moving so freely throughout the country, they can’t take that risk. After going over Sina’s walls, they have to walk the remainder of the journey, occasionally flying low over patches of forest too dense for the dragons to trek through. At this pace, the journey will be a matter of weeks instead.

Erwin desperately hopes they won’t be too late.

Besides himself and Levi, the party consists of three servants and a dozen aerial corps soldiers, aviators handpicked by Mike to tend to the dragons and, if necessary, protect the king from attack. They ride wearing leather harnesses that are then clipped to the straps of Glory’s own harness. Secured in this way, soldiers and servants can move across Glory’s back without fear of being thrown off by an unexpected movement. The undulating motion of his steps fail to phase any of the aviators as they go about their business; many of them had joined the aerial corps at a young age and are accustomed to serving on the backs of dragons. As unlikely as it is, each aviator hopes that one of the ferals will take to one of them, and that they’ll have the opportunity to become a dragon captain in their own right.

In contrast to Glory’s crowded back, Levi’s dragon is free of people but for Levi himself. She doesn’t wear a harness, her own having been taken and used for scrap leather when she was arrested, but the soldiers have managed to throw together a system of ropes, buckles, and a large net that enables her to carry their food, tents, and other supplies. She walks a few paces ahead of Glory, her lithe form picking out the smoothest path between hills and woods.

Levi hasn’t bothered to strap himself to his dragon, a decision that most riders would consider suicide. Any sudden, unthinking movement from a dragon could throw a rider and kill them. But the captain seems completely unconcerned. He sits at the base of his dragon’s neck with perfect ease, occasionally leaning forward to say something to her, occasionally leaning back on his elbows and simply enjoying the ride.

After several hours of travel, they pause to allow the dragons to rest and drink from a nearby river. Erwin and his crew climb down Glory’s harness straps to reach the ground. Levi, however, is picked up in one of his dragon’s foreclaws and gently set down. He stays by her head as she dips her muzzle in the water, a hand resting on her foreleg.

Erwin watches him out of the corner of his eye. Something about the captain has begun to captivate him. His oddities, from the unnatural comfort on dragon back to his extremely defiant nature, make him an enigma, a puzzle for Erwin to figure out. Levi’s earlier interactions had clearly demonstrated that he’s a harsh man; the gentle hand on his dragon’s leg, however, says otherwise.

“She’s a beautiful dragon,” Erwin says, calling across the few yards that separate him from Levi.

Levi looks up. Erwin sees the guarded expression settle into place, the familiar steely edge returning. Perhaps the gentleness is only reserved for his dragon, then.

He considers Erwin before speaking, as though appraising how much he’ll deign to say. Eventually he says, “Her name’s Ravenna.”

“Ravenna,” Erwin repeats. “Tell her I’m pleased to meet her.”

“She can hear you herself.”

The comment surprises Erwin. He – and most other riders – were under the impression that dragons understood the tones in one’s speech, but not necessarily the words. “Ah, forgive me,” Erwin says. “I’m pleased to meet you, Ravenna.”

Ravenna raises her head out of the water and turns to Erwin. There’s a deep grumble in the back of her throat and something like a nod before she returns to drinking.

“They understand our language, they just can’t make the sounds back,” Levi says. “Your dragon’s name?”

“Glory.”

“Glory. Pleasure,” Levi says, with a nod toward Erwin’s dragon that’s more respectful than anything he’s shown Erwin. Glory raises his head and, with a level of elegance almost comical in such a large creature, gives a solemn nod in return. When he turns away again, Levi says, “You don’t give him enough attention.”

The comment is so unexpected that it catches Erwin slightly off-guard, though the surprise doesn’t show on his face. He turns to Glory, trying to see how Levi came to that conclusion, but he’s drinking peacefully and nothing is out of the ordinary. “Did he tell you that?” Erwin asks.

“He doesn’t need to. It’s all over his face.”

Erwin again looks at his dragon, but he can’t detect any hint of expression.

“Well now it’s not, he knows we’re talking about him.”

Now Glory draws his snout out of the water and turns to face Levi, head close to the ground. He gives a low, menacing growl.

“So what if I offend him? Maybe if I offend him he’ll start treating you better.”

Glory continues to growl, low and deep, and Erwin notices him tensing, moving slightly in Levi’s direction. “Easy, there,” Erwin says, reaching out to stroke his muzzle. “Easy. He’s not offending me, don’t worry.”

Levi turns his back on him, allowing Ravenna to pick him up and deposit him on her shoulder. It’s not until after Levi’s settled on his dragon, their conversation effectively over, that Erwin realizes he has allowed Levi to get away with not using the proper form of address.

*****

Beyond that one unorthodox conversation, Levi keeps to himself for most of the journey, only interacting with other members of the party when necessary for completing the tasks assigned to him. Erwin is relieved to see, however, that Levi’s cooperative enough to do as he’s told when they make camp every night, from pitching the tents to digging the latrines. He had wondered whether, with Levi’s defiant attitude, he would find himself above communal work. But the captain sets about his work willingly enough despite his contrary demeanor, and every task he completes is done to perfection.

Because of Levi’s helpfulness, the other soldiers tolerate him. But none advance any form of friendship. They know full well that Levi is a traitor, a horrendous crime in the minds of aviators who have devoted their lives to king and country. Levi takes his dinner apart from the group. And instead of sleeping in tents with the soldiers and servants, he spends his nights curled up on the foreleg of his dragon.

The strange fascination Erwin feels toward him doesn’t cease; if anything, it grows as the journey continues. Levi’s a man of seemingly incompatible opposites, at once harsh and tender, slight and strong. Defiant when speaking with Erwin, but shockingly obedient when helping about the camp. There are a thousand mysteries wrapped up in him, and Erwin finds himself observing the captain when his back is turned, searching for the slightest clue that could solve one of them.

Perhaps Erwin is drawn to Levi because he’s a distraction from other, more pressing concerns. Indeed, the moments when Erwin struggles to piece together Levi’s contradictions are the moments when he feels relatively at peace. Otherwise, the purpose of his journey beats at the back of his mind, incessant as the relentless march of Glory’s steps. As he’s carried across the fields and meadows of his kingdom, Erwin’s plagued with visions of those lands burning at the hands of the Titans. With fears that even now, Sina may be under attack. With the knowledge that his mission – and the fate of his entire nation – depends on an incomprehensible, insolent man who was once fickle enough to desert.

These fears are running through Erwin’s mind six days into their journey, when the dragons lift off to fly low over a dense patch of forest. The forest is only a few miles wide north to south, but it stretches out for several dozen miles to the east and west, and walking around it would send them too far out of their way. The only choice is to risk flying over it as they continue northwards.

Ravenna flies before Glory, her broad wings casting a deep shadow over the trees. Suddenly, without so much as a signal from Levi, Ravenna turns and hurtles toward the ground, landing on the south side of the forest where they had just came from.

Erwin’s first thought is desertion, the second insubordination. But Ravenna does not try to run off. She only stands still, hidden by the tree line and pressing low to the ground. And Erwin realizes that Levi’s real motivation must be something much, much worse.

He calls to Glory to descend after them, but Glory’s already diving when Erwin speaks. Erwin stands on his neck when he lands and addresses Levi.

“Captain, what are you doing?”

“Quiet!” Levi hisses.

No one else would ever dare command their king like that. Erwin can’t bring himself to mind. The urgency in Levi’s tone makes it more than clear that the order was something other than simple disrespect.

Ravenna plucks Levi up with her foreclaw, but instead of setting him on the ground, she place him on Glory’s shoulder. Glory makes an offended sound in the back of his throat when Levi jumps on his back uninvited, scampering across his shoulder blade to stand before Erwin.

“Titans,” Levi says, his voice low. Out of the corner of his eye, Erwin sees the aviators tense up at that word, their faces grim.

“How many?”

Levi shakes his head. “I don’t know. A whole army of them. It was just a long line of people, stretching out to the horizon. Plus a few in the forest, probably hunting for food. Had to be at least . . .” Levi hesitates. “I don’t know. At least a couple thousand.”

“Did you see any dragons?”

“No, but I didn’t exactly take a close look. As soon as I saw them I got out of their sight.”

Erwin nods. “Of course. What direction were they in?”

“North,” Levi says. “Straight north. Right between us and the Maria Mountains.”

*****

The titans weren’t supposed to be this far north.

Erwin spreads out his map on a flat rock, examining the position of the enemy. Two of his soldiers had been sent ahead to scout, and the rest were standing guard. Only he and Levi stood behind the small defensive line.

“Show me where you saw them.”

Levi kneels down next to Erwin and stares at the paper before him. “I’m not that great with maps,” he says eventually.

Erwin points to their location. “We’re here now, and just north of us is the Trost Forest, here.”

Levi stares at the map and squints as if that will clear things up. “Then it would be . . .” He rests a slender finger on the map. “But the camp went to the horizon, so it’d be more here.” He raises his finger a little. Now he’s pointing to a spot too far away to be seen, but Erwin understands what he means and chooses not to say anything. “And the line went on further to the left.”

“The west?”

“Yeah.”

Erwin nods. “Thank you, captain.”

He rolls up the map, standing. Levi rises too and turns to go, his services clearly no longer needed.

“Captain, a moment.”

Levi pauses and looks warily over his shoulder at Erwin.

The soldiers had not bothered to set up camp – it would take too long to break down if they came under attack – but a few of the heavier packs had been taken off of the dragons, including Erwin’s personal trunk. He goes to this trunk now, resting by Glory’s rear left foot, and opens it, searching through the contents until he finds a long, narrow bundle.

Levi turns around and watches Erwin carefully as he unwraps a thin sword.

“A rapier,” Erwin comments. “Odd choice for an aviator. Most riders elect weapons that don’t require quite as much balance or precision.”

“I thought that had been confiscated,” Levi says. If he feels any surprise at seeing his old weapon in Erwin’s hands, he doesn’t show it.  

“It was supposed to have been sold upon your arrest, but the war claimed the attention of any who would sell it, and it sat unused in a storeroom in the aerial corps headquarters. I had soldiers search those storerooms for any belongings of yours, not necessarily expecting them to find anything. Imagine my surprise when they found such a fine weapon.”

“And you hid it from me.”

“I took what I thought were the proper precautions.” Erwin grips the sword in one hand, at the top of its sheathed blade, and holds it out to Levi. “But in our present circumstances precaution dictates a different course of action.”

Levi hesitates, watching Erwin as though expecting him to rescind the offer. Then his hand darts out, gripping the hilt with familiar ease. He slides the sword out of its sheath with a resounding ring and carefully examines the blade. Then he looks back at Erwin, and something plays around his lips that almost resembles a smile. “You trust me not to run you through in your sleep?”

“I trust you to recognize that we have a common enemy that must be faced together,” Erwin replies.

Levi’s eyes flicker away from his blade, meeting Erwin’s, and he nods his agreement. With practiced hands, he sheaths the sword and buckles it around his waist.

*****

Hours pass, and the scouts don’t return. Erwin allows the guards to take shifts now, though those on break don’t stray far from their weapons. The sun goes down, but Erwin doesn’t allow fires to be lit. His soldiers peer through weak starlight at the tree line before them, every shadow a potential enemy.

Erwin stands by Glory’s shoulder, staring into the darkness as intently as any guardsman. His mind paints an image of a map of his nation before him, and he tries to discern the Titans’ path. The last Erwin had heard, the Titan’s ground forces were massing in the east, heading toward Sina. There was nothing for them in this central area of the country, nothing but wilderness and farming villages too small to loot. What could they be doing here? What clue had Erwin missed?

Perhaps Erwin is so intent on finding answers that he lets down his guard, or perhaps Levi is taking care to move quietly. But for whatever reason, Erwin doesn’t hear so much as a breath to signal Levi’s approach. His voice gives Erwin a chill for a moment before he recognizes its owner.

“I can fly over and look for the scouts. On a black dragon, I can’t be seen in the night.”

Levi’s barely a shadow standing at Erwin’s shoulder, his ghostly pale skin the only bit of light about him. The darkness smooths out the hard lines of his features, creating the illusion of a softer, younger face. 

“You can’t be risked,” Erwin tells him. “If you’re seen and killed, the entire mission is forfeit.”

“I’m hard to kill.”

“I will not allow it.”

Erwin can hear Levi’s quiet sigh. Sees his head move slightly up, as though looking at the stars. “And what if I did it whether you allowed it or not?”

“Then you’d be left to your own foolish fate.”

There’s a quick breath out, almost as though Levi were laughing. “You’re pretty used to being obeyed, huh?”

“Of course.”

“And what if you give a bad order?”

Erwin’s never been asked that question, at least not in such a direct manner, and certainly not by someone so far below his rank. But it’s a question that he asks himself every day, one that often prevents him from falling asleep at night.

“Then I have to live with the consequences,” Erwin says quietly. The consequences of misjudging the Titans’ movements, of bringing his company right in their path, and of entrusting his nation to the results of what is likely a fool’s errand.

“Seems pretty unfair. People could lose their lives if you give a bad order, and all you get is a little bit of guilt.”

The comment settles under Erwin’s skin and pricks him with painful truth. That, too, is a thought that runs through his mind every day. Erwin wonders if dragons aren’t the only creatures Levi understands. “Yes, it is,” Erwin says. And then, after a pause, “I should remind you that you’re speaking to your king. I could have you flogged for insolence.”

“But you won’t.”

“How are you so certain?”     

“You’re not an asshole.”

The bluntness of the remark causes Erwin to laugh before he can stop himself. “Well,” he says. “I’m honored to have such an assessment made of me.”

They’re interrupted by the sounds of rustling leaves and cracking branches, warnings of someone running through the woods. Erwin’s hand travels to the hilt of his sword.

His scouts burst out of the trees, panting heavily. But the sound of running feet hasn’t stopped.

“Mount the dragons,” Erwin calls to his soldiers at the same moment that a squad of Titans emerges from the woods.

Their towering forms appear as nothing more than shadows in the darkness, bearing down on soldiers that seem dwarfed by their size. There’s a ringing in the air, a dozen swords all being drawn at once, Titan and aviator alike. Then the shattering, scraping clash of sword against sword, soldiers grunting in exertion and, once, crying out in pain.

Erwin’s instincts scream at him to draw his own sword. But he’s counted the giant forms of the Titans, knows the exact odds of this battle. Now isn’t time for a fight. Now, the fate of their mission depends on how quickly they can retreat.

The three servants are hastily throwing the few unloaded packs onto Ravenna’s back. Erwin helps, fumbling for baggage in the darkness, shoving items haphazardly under Ravenna’s ropes and net. Ravenna growls as they do, her sharp eyes following the movements of the fight, eager to join in.

Glory, for his part, had joined the struggle the moment he could. His roars shake the earth, and claws swipe aside several Titans at once, throwing them a dozen feet through the air before their bodies fall heavily to the ground. But he cannot fight the Titans once they engage with Erwin’s soldiers – in a close fight in the dark, Glory can’t be sure he won’t hurt friend as much as foe with his massive claws. After a few initial strikes, he hangs back, roaring with frustration.

More dark figures begin to pour out of the trees. “Leave the rest,” Erwin commands. “Mount the dragons.”

There’s no time now for humans to clumsily climb up a dragon harness. Ravenna reaches out to the three servants who had been attending her and places them on her back. While she does, Erwin turns to shout orders to the soldiers. “Fall back!” he yells. “Let the dragons pick you up. Fall back!”

Erwin doesn’t notice his assaulter. The Titan’s stealth is so great that Erwin doesn’t see him, doesn’t hear him. Doesn’t know of his presence until Glory turns around, suddenly frightened, warning him that something is wrong. By the time Erwin draws his sword and spins to look behind, the dagger is inches from is neck.

But it never lands.

The assailant goes rigid, and Erwin understands what has happened just in time to step out of the way of the descending weapon. It passes within a breath of his neck while the Titan’s lifeless body collapses to the ground.

“Pay more attention to your surroundings, your majesty,” a familiar, insolent voice says.

The next moment the ground disappears beneath him, and he’s deposited on Glory’s back. One by one, Glory and Ravenna collect Erwin’s soldiers, plucking them away from harm. No sooner is the last person mounted than the dragons take off, wings pounding the air, leaving the Titans behind.

“East,” Erwin says to Glory. “We need to fly east.”

Glory dutifully carries Erwin east, towards safety and away from his goal.

*****

Erwin doesn’t have Levi’s comfort on dragon back, and without his harness, he has to twine his arms around the thick straps of the dragon-harness and lie facedown on Glory’s back, his stomach pressed up against hard scales. He feels the movements of each wingbeat and the steady rise and fall of each of Glory’s breaths. As they fly into the rising sun, the first glimpse of daylight Erwin has is reflected in brilliant blue off Glory’s head.

They don’t pause until the sun has risen, and Erwin feels confident that there’s no chance of pursuit. He instructs Glory to land by a small lake, and behind him, Ravenna follows suit.

The dragons drink deeply and greedily from the lake, exhausted from the long, unexpected flight. Erwin stands on her back to give his orders, instructing his soldiers to build a camp and set a watch. Under his feet he can feel each gulp of water that Glory takes.

The soldiers set about their tasks quickly, eager to rest as soon as they’re done. Water and food gets passed around while they work, each soldier drinking and eating quickly in between tasks. In record time, the aviators are in their tents and fast asleep.

Erwin, too, is exhausted. He usually doesn’t sleep well, but now he feels as though he’ll collapse where he stands. Still, Erwin ensures that all his soldiers are settled before he sees to his own tent. And after his soldiers, there’s another more person Erwin needs to see to.

Glory is having a breakfast of salted meat, devouring it at an almost frantic pace. Erwin approaches him slowly. When he’s like this – sharp teeth tearing meat off the bone or swallowing huge chunks whole – Erwin can see why those unfamiliar with dragons consider them savage.

“Glory,” Erwin says, a little tentative, unsure of how the dragon will respond to being interrupted from his dinner.  

Glory pauses his meal. His eyes turn to Erwin with questioning intensity.

“Are you feeling ok after the long flight?”

Glory rumbles something deep in his throat, a low affirmation, and bobs his head once.

Erwin moves closer, until he’s right next to the mouth that could easily swallow him whole and the eye bigger than his head. “We owe you our lives for carrying us so far and for so long. And more than that, you were the one who warned me of the man attacking me. Without you, I very likely would be dead.”

There’s a soft noise in the back of his throat, and Erwin can’t interpret it. But Glory lowers his head to the ground and curls a foreleg around Erwin, as if protecting him, and that’s easy enough to understand.

Erwin first rests one hand on his muzzle, stroking it lightly, and then presses his body up against Glory’s snout in an awkward attempt at an embrace. There’s the softest growl from him, as though a purr, and Erwin wonders how anyone could truly consider dragons savage.

This used to happen frequently, when Erwin was young. Before the Titans attacked. He used to spend hours on end with Glory, riding him, speaking to him and caring for him. But being a king left little room for such personal indulgences. Erwin had forgotten how calming it could be to bond with another creature.

“The captain’s right,” Erwin murmurs. “I really don’t give you enough attention.”

Glory moves his forearm closer, shrinking the protective that circle Erwin’s in, and Erwin knows he’s forgiven.

They remain like that for some time, and Erwin suspects that he might have dozed a little, falling asleep on his feet. When Erwin finds himself struggling to stay awake, he parts from Glory to take his rest and leave Glory to his dinner.

Near his tent, Erwin’s distracted by the sharp ring of metal. The quiet noise stands out strangely in the silent camp. Erwin searches for the source and finds Levi sitting on the banks of the lake a few yards away from a sleeping Ravenna, sharpening his rapier.

Erwin approaches him. There’s a cloth lying on the grass beside Levi covered in blood from having cleaned off his sword. Now he scrapes a whetstone across the blade in long, deliberate strokes. The noise rings out again.

Levi doesn’t turn around as Erwin approaches, and Erwin thinks that perhaps he will startle Levi this time. But when Erwin stops a few feet behind him, Levi says, “What do you want?”

“Why aren’t you resting with the rest of the troops?”

“I’m not tired.” Another ringing scrape of the stone. “I slept a little in the air. Why aren’t you resting?”

Erwin’s never heard of anyone who could sleep comfortably while dragonback, especially without being strapped in. But by this point, Levi’s oddities have ceased to surprise him.

“I will, shortly,” Erwin says. “But before I do, I want to thank you for saving my life.”

Levi’s motions come to a pause, the whetstone resting at the base of his rapier. “I was just fighting the enemy. It was as much to save myself as you.”

“I didn’t ask for your motivations,” Erwin says. “I am alive because of you, and I’m grateful.”

Levi still doesn’t turn around, and Erwin has no hint as to what’s happening in his mind. He watches the captain carefully, taking note of the slightest change in his posture, the slow release of his breath. Eventually, Levi says, “You’re welcome, your majesty.”

The title has a slight sarcastic twist on it, as though Levi had spat it out to mollify Erwin, to make him leave him alone. As usual, Levi confounds Erwin. Most people would be thrilled to receive royal gratitude, humbled by the recognition and eager to someday leverage it for personal gain. Levi is, as usual, in stark opposition to the norm.

As for the sarcastic bite behind the title, Erwin wants to be sure Levi knows he heard it. He crouches down behind Levi, sinking to one knee, bodies so close they’re almost touching. “There,” he says into Levi’s ear. “Using my title wasn’t so hard, was it?”

For once, Levi doesn’t have a clever response. His body goes rigid, every muscle tensed. This close to Levi, Erwin notices little details he hadn’t bothered to notice before – his scent, the thin hairs on the back of his neck, the way his jaw muscles clench.

In the corner of his mind, as though watching the scene from a distance, Erwin catches himself staring. He hastily stands back, suddenly ashamed, as though he had been caught looking at something he should have left alone. Levi makes no reaction to Erwin’s sudden retreat; his muscles remain rigid, body unyielding.

Erwin turns to enter his tent, willing himself to forget every new detail he had just overserved, to not think too deeply about that moment. “Get your rest, captain,” he says, the order deliberately impersonal.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a Thanksgiving present, because I'm thankful to all the readers who fuel me with your lovely comments and enthusiasm <3
> 
> This is as far as I've written so far, but hopefully I'll have time to finish it very soon!

The camp rouses late in the afternoon to begin preparations for the next leg of the journey. Erwin, after studying his map, has plotted a new course that will keep them hidden from enemy eyes. They’ll continue east along the edge of the Trost Forest until they reach a range of low hills that intersects. These hills will provide cover as they travel north toward the Maria Mountains. The hilly terrain means that the trek will be more difficult, but it also means they can spend more time on dragonback, letting the broad peaks conceal their flight. And they’ll need to spend as much time in the air as possible if they want to make up for the time they lost in their retreat.

By sundown the party sets out again. Erwin sits at the base of Glory’s neck as they fly next to the tree line, low enough that each of Glory’s wingbeats stirs the dirt and grass below. In front of him, Erwin can barely make out the gliding silhouette of Ravenna. If Levi wanted to sneak away, all he would have to do is wait for a cloud to cover the moon. Ravenna blends in with the darkness so well that her absence wouldn’t be noticed.

Erwin spends the journey deep in thought, trying to puzzle out why the Titans would send a portion of their army so far off course. There are a number of possibilities – they could be burning farms, looting villages, perhaps hoping to cut off the path of any refugees from Sina – but those are rather small goals, not missions that justify the lengthy and strenuous process of moving an army across land. There has to be some larger, more far-reaching goal. Some reason why approaching Sina from the north would be more strategic than from the east. And whatever ploy the Titans have thought of, it’s unlikely to end well for Erwin’s people.

They make camp around midnight and set out again at dawn the next day. It takes another half day’s journey to reach the hills, and from there the going becomes slow. Dragons fly them over the most difficult paths, but even flight becomes hindered at times as they maneuver between hills, squeezing through narrow passes or zig-zagging around wide peaks. Occasionally, the hills drop away and they must walk for a bit, the dragons struggling to clear a path in the heavily wooded valleys. At night, they barely manage to find ground that’s both clear enough and flat enough to accommodate the dragons, sometimes searching for hours before finding a suitable campsite.

A few days into the journey, when they’re still in the midst of the hills, a fierce rainstorm forces an early landing. The troops are drenched in a matter of minutes as they erect tents on ground that quickly turns to mud. Once the tents are standing, everyone but the poor men on watch hurry inside, huddling together against the fierce downpour.

Erwin sits in his own tent trying to calm himself enough to focus on a book. He hasn’t had much chance of reprieve throughout the journey – or, really, throughout the past several months – but now, forced by the elements to rest, Erwin finds himself restless. The one book he brought with him is a history, perhaps not the best choice. As he reads, Erwin finds himself wondering how future historians will write about him.

Eventually, Erwin gives up. He closes the book and deposits it at the bottom of his trunk. With little else to do, he wraps himself in a cloak and steps into the storm to check on his dragon.

The rain falls with such ferocity that raindrops sting his face despite the protection of his cloak, and it’s difficult to see through the torrent of water. By the time he makes it to where the dragons sleep, Erwin’s already soaked to the skin.

The ground Glory rests on has turned to mud, but somehow he has managed to fall asleep regardless. Erwin presses an affectionate hand up against his foreleg, wishing he could give him more suitable accommodations. But he’s well and getting his rest, and that will have to be enough. Dragons have a high tolerance for the elements, and it takes more than rain or wet to faze them.

Erwin’s prepared to return to his tent when he sees Ravenna lying with one wing outstretched. Her eyes are wide open, yet to fall asleep, and the positioning of her wing indicates that she’s protecting something. Erwin approaches and is utterly unsurprised to find Levi lying in the crook of Ravenna’s foreleg, her wing keeping out the worst of the rain.

“Captain!” Erwin calls over the sound of the downpour. Levi sits up, still wide awake. A brief look of surprise crosses his face when he sees Erwin. “Get out of the rain and sleep in a tent.”

“I’m fine here,” Levi says.

“That was an order, captain.”

Levi, in blatant defiance, lies back down.

Erwin glances up at Ravenna before making his next move. She only looks at him mildly and seems to nod when Erwin takes a step forward.

He ducks under Ravenna’s wing and grabs Levi by the arm, pulling him to his feet. “I will not have the man on which my country’s hopes rest fall ill from foolishly sleeping in the rain. You will go to a tent now.”

“There’s no room in any of the tents,” Levi protests, still not cowed.

“Then you will sleep in mine.”

Ravenna retracts her wing, folding it up against her side. When Levi looks up at her in supplication, she simply leans down and noses him forward, as if pushing him toward Erwin.

“I imagine she’s concerned for your health,” Erwin says. “As you should be.”

“Fine, fine,” Levi says, probably more to pacify Ravenna than Erwin. “I’ll come with you.” The rain has already soaked through his clothes and plastered his hair to his face.

To ensure that Levi doesn’t go back on his word, Erwin pushes Levi in front of him where he can keep an eye on him. With obvious reluctance, Levi makes the trek to Erwin’s tent.

The sound of the rain turns to a steady rumble when they enter. Erwin watches as Levi takes a look around, trying to see his tent through Levi’s eyes. It’s circular and relatively spacious for a soldier’s quarters. A reed mat covers the ground, absorbing the dirt and damp. On top of that, a pile of rugs further protects Erwin’s pallet. There’s also a small table and a chair off to the side, furniture made to be taken apart and easily put back together as they travel from place to place. To Erwin, the accommodations are simple, but he realizes that they must look luxurious when compared to the cramped tents that most soldiers sleep in.

“Nice place,” Levi comments mildly.

“Thank you.” He hadn’t intended to have a tent finer than those of the other soldiers. It had simply been given to him on his first military campaign. Like most luxury in Erwin’s life, it was something he had fallen into, not something he had worked to obtain.

“You could fit two normal tents in this one. All for one guy.”

“Well, tonight it will house two.” Erwin considers Levi, his clothes plastered to his body with the damp. “You need to get out of those wet things.”

“What?”

“If you sleep in those damp clothes you’ll surely fall ill, and we can’t risk that,” Erwin says. He kneels before the trunk that sits at the foot of his pallet. There are a few spare sets of clothes in there. They’re obviously too big for Levi, but they’ll have to do.

“I’m not taking off my clothes.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You can wear some of mine.”

“Sorry to point out the obvious, your majesty, but I don’t think they’ll fit.”

Erwin pulls a loose blouse out of his trunk. This one he doesn’t wear as often, as it’s a little big for him. On Levi, it’d practically be a dress. “This will be enough to cover all that’s necessary, I believe. I have a few spare blankets you can sleep in to keep warm.”

“I’m not wearing your clothes,” Levi says. “That’s humiliating.”

“What’s humiliating is your petulant refusal to see to your health,” Erwin says. “Normally, I’d be happy to allow you to enjoy the consequences of your poor decisions, but as your fate is tied up with the fate of my country, I’m ordering you, as your king, to move past your pride and get into dry clothes.”

Levi looks at Erwin, his face set in a deep scowl. But he nods, and Erwin recognizes that a nod from Levi counts as deference. Erwin holds out the shirt, and Levi takes it.

“Don’t watch me change,” Levi mutters.

“I assure you, I have no interest in seeing you naked.”

Levi turns around. Erwin does as well, so that the two of them stand back to back. The pounding of the rain drowns out any sound of Levi’s movements, creating the impression that Erwin is alone. But he’s distinctly aware that he’s not. As Erwin slips out of his own wet clothes, he can almost feel Levi’s presence behind him the same way one feels the heat of a fire. The space between them seems full of energy, flushed with warmth. Erwin finds himself wondering if Levi is looking at him, even though he knows, rationally, that he isn’t. He changes quickly, eager for the unpleasant awareness to pass.

Erwin’s almost finished changing – he only needs to put on a dry shirt – when he determines it’ll be safe to take a glance at Levi and end this strange discomfort. He looks over his shoulder. Gray eyes look up at the exact moment that Erwin turns, and their gazes meet by accident.

Erwin had known the shirt would be large on Levi. But he hadn’t realized how strange it would be to see Levi dressed like that. The edges of the blouse hang to just above Levi’s knees, giving the impression of a child in adult clothing. The collar is much too wide despite the fact that Levi tied the laces as tight as they would go. It barely hangs on his shoulders, drooping low to reveal his collarbones. Erwin’s shocked by how delicate his shoulders are, how smooth his skin looks. He’s so entranced by the strangeness of Levi’s appearance that it takes him several seconds to break his gaze away.

Erwin steps back, as if physically trying to draw his attention away from Levi. At that moment Levi seems to snap out of a trance as well, his eyes flickering up to Erwin’s face from where they had been focused slightly lower. “You said something about blankets,” he says.       

“Of course.” Erwin hastily slips his shirt on and turns to his trunk. “I have two extra blankets and a spare cloak, I hope that will be warm enough. I can spare a rug for you to sleep on.” Erwin pulls the blankets out of his trunk. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Levi spreading his wet things on Erwin’s table and chair to dry out. “Actually,” Erwin says, “You can take my bed. I’ll sleep on a rug.”

Levi eyes him with something like suspicion. “Why?”

“I’m sure you’ll be more comfortable there.”

“Isn’t that selfless of you.”

“Thank you.” Truthfully, the offer isn’t entirely selfless. Levi clearly seems disdainful toward the level of comfort Erwin enjoys by virtue of his station. Perhaps demonstrating that he’s willing to part with that comfort would lessen Levi’s disdain. Respect, Levi had told him, was the key to managing dragons. Perhaps it was also the key to managing dragon speakers.

“But I’m used to sleeping on dragon scales,” Levi says. “Anything soft wouldn’t be comfortable.”

“As you wish.”

Erwin tugs one of the rugs under his mattress until it comes free. He positions it next to his pallet and lays the blankets and cloak on top of it. Levi looks down at it warily, as though the rug would jump up and bite him. It’s an old piece, and the colors had faded years ago. But to Levi’s eyes, it still must be very fine. The background is deep yellow, with blue and red dragons embroidered along the edges.

“Is something the matter?” Erwin asks.

“Lots of red dragons on here,” Levi says in lieu of an answer.

“I imagine the artisan wanted to be symbolic,” Erwin replies. While legends often told tales of red dragons, the only written records of them were too old to be trusted. Many people believe that red dragons have all died out; others believe that they live in the most remote corners of the world, mythical creatures with special abilities. They’re all fire breathers, according to legend, and they can even talk. No red dragon can ever be tamed by a human rider.

“And you’re represented by the blue ones,” Levi says. Blue is the color of the royal family, and most dragons belonging to royalty have been blue for the past few centuries.

“In a sense, yes.”

“Blue dragons taming red ones. Typical royalty shit.”

“Are they tamed? I never thought the blue dragons necessarily appeared to be in charge.”

Levi examines the rug again. His dour expression contrasts comically with his appearance in the overlarge shirt, and Erwin has to suppress a smile. “So what does it mean?”

“I think it simply represents power. The ability of the royal family to work in partnership with a force so strong it can’t be tamed.”

“Then it’s still arrogant shit.” Levi positions a blanket to cover most of the offending rug and then sits down. He scoots lower on the makeshift bed, shirt riding up around the top of his thighs, before arranging the second blanket and the cloak on top of him.

Erwin receives the message that it’s time for bed. He walks around the perimeter of the tent, extinguishing torches that are tied to his tent posts, until all that illuminates the space is one small candle on the table. “Is it dark enough for you to sleep?”

“Sure.”

“Sleep well, captain.”

In response, Levi simply pulls his covers up to his chin and falls silent, his eyes drooping closed.

It’s late at night and high time that Erwin sleeps as well, but he remains restless, his mind on high alert. With wet clothes covering his table and chair, Erwin takes the candle and brings it to his pallet. He rests it on the floor and then unrolls a map from out of his trunk, examining his route. This map has been examined a dozen times this evening alone, but there’s always the chance that he missed something. Erwin traces the ridge of the foothills with his gaze, follows the path they’ll have to take to reach the Maria Mountains. Should they follow the hills all the way or return to open land further north? Where would the Titan army be? Was it moving south toward the city, or, for some inexplicable reason, in another direction? Erwin thinks through every possibility, examines each potential route both he and the enemy could take. With every new scenario Erwin thinks up, there are a thousand unanswered questions, a thousand ways everything could turn to ruin.

“Go to sleep.”

Erwin starts at the voice. He had been so deep in thought he had almost forgotten that Levi was in his tent with him. “What was that?”

“I can hear you sighing louder than a dragon,” Levi says. When Erwin turns around, he finds that Levi hasn’t even opened his eyes. He still lies on his side, eyes shut, for all the world appearing to be fast asleep. “Whatever’s bothering you, sitting up and sighing isn’t going to help.”

“I hadn’t realized I was sighing so loudly. I’ll try to be quieter.”

Now Levi finally opens his eyes. “What you’ll do is go to bed,” he says. “We can’t have a sleep-deprived king.”

Erwin can’t remember the last time anyone had given him such a direct order, especially about such a personal matter. It’s brazen, completely out of line. Erwin should be angry. He’s not sure why he’s not. “It’s very rude for you to take that kind of tone with your king,” he says mildly.

“What’s rude is your petulant refusal to see to your health,” Levi says. Then he adds, “Your majesty.”

Erwin isn’t speechless often, but now his jaw almost drops, completely taken aback by the level of insolence coming from Levi – especially with his use of Erwin’s own words.

Erwin takes the candle with him as he approaches Levi’s rug. Levi sits up to wait for him. When Erwin kneels in front of Levi, their faces are only inches apart. “How dare you speak to me like that?” he asks, his question as much real curiosity as admonishment.

“I dare because I know I’m right,” Levi says.

“Right or not, you need to show some semblance of respect.”

“Why should I bother?”

“I am your king.”

“But what have you done to deserve it?”

And once again, Erwin’s rendered speechless. No one, at any point in his life, had ever questioned whether Erwin deserved respect. In Erwin’s society, respect was given, not earned. Something due to Erwin solely because of an accident of birth. Erwin had often privately questioned it; he never expected to hear his question spoken aloud.

Levi seems utterly unaware of the impact his question had on Erwin. He watches Erwin evenly, defiant gray eyes meeting Erwin’s own without hesitation. Levi’s collar has slipped lower on his left side, leaving his entire left shoulder bare, smooth skin highlighted by the dancing candle flame. Erwin’s eyes drop to it, and to the bared hollow of Levi’s throat, to the tendons tightening in Levi’s neck and the bob of his Adam’s apple.

“I saved you from execution, captain,” Erwin says, “And I have placed every ounce of my trust in you to deliver my country.”

“Then trust me in the small things, too,” Levi says, “And get some sleep.”

“I didn’t know you were so concerned for my well-being.”

“Well you’re clearly not, so someone has to be.”

“You know, by the rules of the aerial corps, I should have you flogged first thing tomorrow for insolence.”

“Will you?”

Erwin knows he should. He can’t give anyone preferential treatment, or all discipline will break down. And yet, without hesitation, Erwin says, “No.”

“Then what do you think my fair punishment is, your majesty?” Levi leans in when he says this, his lips deliberately forming the syllables of Erwin’s title. Erwin eyes settle on them, delicate lines, thin and soft. This close to Levi, he can almost taste his breath. Can smell the lye soap Levi uses and the faint scent of dragon that constantly clings to him. Erwin breathes it in, watches Levi’s lips part.

Levi gasps when Erwin kisses him, sucking in his own breath and Erwin’s alike. His body goes rigid, fists clenching Erwin’s shirt, pulling Erwin closer and pushing him away in equal measure. Erwin pushes the kiss deeper, locking their mouths together, while with one hand he holds Levi’s bare shoulder. It’s just as soft and smooth as it appeared, perfectly delicate, and Erwin grips it tight, as though Levi will run away from him otherwise. Levi makes no move to leave, however. He tilts his head back to give Erwin a better angle, lips supple as Erwin explores them. Erwin’s other hand comes up to rest on Levi’s waist, and he can feel Levi breathing heavily under the thin fabric of his shirt. It feels beautiful, the shirt loose against Levi’s squirming body, and Erwin’s hand drops to its hem. He pushes it aside, eager to touch those pale thighs he had gotten a glimpse of earlier, and perhaps more . . .

The pads of his fingers brush against the outside of Levi’s right leg, and Levi gasps underneath him. All at once, reality rushes back to Erwin. He freezes, then pulls away, his lips parting from Levi’s with a loud smack. Levi’s staring as Erwin stands, his breath still heavy, lips reddened and shirt tangled about the top of his legs.

“I . . . I’m so sorry,” Erwin says. He backs away until he can’t go any further, blocked by the canvas wall of the tent. He would run away if he could. “I don’t know what came over me. I’m so sorry.”

Levi pulls the shirt down and lifts the blankets up. After a moment’s hesitation, he lies back down, turning to face away from Erwin. “Don’t worry about it,” he says, his voice oddly flat. “Just go to sleep.”


	4. Chapter 4

Drops of water still pound the roof of his tent, but when Erwin opens his eyes he sees sunlight pressing against the canvas walls. His mind hazy with the disorientation of a fitful sleep, his eyes drift closed again. Or perhaps they were never open to begin with. He can still hear the rain on the roof above him, as fierce as any storm. Perhaps the sunlight was a dream, then. A vivid dream, like the other strange dreams Erwin had that night. Dreams of Levi . . .

He turns over and opens his eyes again, seeing evidence that not everything he remembers was a dream.  

Levi isn’t there now, though. There’s only the pile of Erwin’s blankets that he had slept under, folded back over the rug where red and blue dragons dance around each other. And the blouse that had been so large on Levi is folded neatly on top of that pile. Levi’s own wet clothes, laid out on Erwin’s table the night before, are gone, though there’s no chance they’re completely dry yet. And illuminating all of it is the faint yellow glow of sunlight outside his tent.  

The sound on the roof, Erwin realizes, is last night’s rainfall dripping from the leaves that hang over his tent. It gives a sense of unreality to the morning, two of his senses contradicting each other. Erwin sits up and stares at the rug, trying to determine when waking had turned to dreams. The kiss, that had to have been real. His memory of it is too vivid, full of sensations that don’t come in dreams. But there are other snippets of memory that Erwin just can’t place. Levi looking at him, eyes hard in the candlelight. Levi leaning over him, blouse loose on his shoulders, asking questions touched by concern. Erwin’s sleep has been uneasy for the past several nights; perhaps Levi had been alarmed by his perpetual tossing and turning.

And then there is more, so much more, that Erwin knows must have been dreamt because he can’t imagine Levi would actually consent to any of it. Merely recalling those dreams is enough to bring color to Erwin’s face. He hasn’t had a dream that was . . . well, a dream like that dream . . . since he was a teenager. And now, with his country on the brink of destruction, does not seem like an appropriate time to start again.

He gets dressed quickly and packs up his things, preparing his trunk, bedroll, and furniture to be put away for traveling. When he steps out of his tent, he sees his company already breaking camp despite the early hour. They work in the pale yellow glow of a bright morning, sunlight illuminating the water droplets that hang off brush and branches and making them sparkle. In the distance, he can hear the murmur of a river swelled with rainwater. The effect is a scene that seems almost too idyllic to be true. Strange, how such a peaceful morning can dawn over a war-torn nation.

“Your majesty.” A servant hurries over to Erwin when he emerges from his tent and bows to him. “There is some breakfast for you by the fire. We have begun breaking camp and will be prepared to load the dragons within the hour. The dragons are currently in the river, washing off the mud from last night. The captain is with them.”

“Excellent, thank you,” Erwin replies. “You have begun your preparations early this morning. Why was I not woken?”

The servant hesitates for a moment, but he can’t evade a direct question asked by her king. “The captain said to wait, your majesty.”

Interesting. “Did he give a reason?”

“He only said that you had gone to bed late last night and slept fitfully.”

“I see. That will be all, thank you.” The servant bows and hurries away.

Erwin finds a serving of porridge that’s presumably for him left on the coals of that morning’s cooking fire. He fills a bowl for himself and then steps into the woods, following the sound of the river. He’ll check up on Glory while he eats. And if the captain’s there . . . well, he has to face the consequences of his actions. He has to apologize for that impulsive kiss, and the sooner he gets it over with, the better.

The ground begins to slope downwards sharply as the sound of the current grows louder, and Erwin struggles to maintain his footing while picking his way across the sodden ground. It’s not long before his tunic and leggings become soaked through by brush still wet from the night’s rain. The forest here is untouched and wild – so much so that, when he begins to see the forms of the dragons through the foliage, they don’t look too out of place. This is the kind of unharnessed landscape that such a powerful creature belongs in.

Glory is several yards downriver from Ravenna, and Erwin makes his way to him, somewhat relieved that the dragons are far enough apart that he’s unlikely to run into Levi. When Erwin reaches the riverbank, Glory’s crouching low in the water, rubbing his belly against the stones on the bottom to dislodge the last of the mud. He notices as soon as Erwin appears and bounds over to greet him with a splash that soaks Erwin through. When he sinks down low enough look at Erwin, he’s making a low growl that almost sounds like a purr.

Erwin finds himself chuckling despite the sudden soaking. There’s something calming about being greeted so enthusiastically by his dragon, and for a rare moment his stress and worry fade to the back of his mind.

“Good morning, my friend,” Erwin says. “I hope your night in the rain wasn’t too miserable. I’m sorry you had to endure that.”

There’s a slight change in the tenor of Glory’s rumble, and he gently tilts his head to the side. Erwin hopes that means he’s been forgiven.

“You seem to be enjoying your bath,” he comments. Glory bobs his head up and down in a comically human-like nod.

Now Glory jerks his head to one side, gesturing upriver. He’s apparently gesturing at Ravenna, though Erwin can’t understand why. He looks between Levi’s dragon and his own with some confusion, but Glory apparently seems satisfied with that. He crouches low in the water and moves forward slowly, performing an attempt at sneaking that probably would have been effective if he wasn’t a 60-ton dragon.

Subtlety is apparently relative to your own size, though, because Ravenna doesn’t notice until Glory is only a few yards away, too close for her to stop him from using his tail to push a massive wave of water at her.

Ravenna growls, water dripping from her jaw, while Glory runs downriver in triumph. She gives an irritated bellow before sending her own wave after Glory, and in a matter of moments the two of them are engaged in something of a battle. They tumble around each other in the current, throwing tsunamis onto the banks of the river as they run and jump with a level of energy that would put most human children to shame. Erwin can’t help but laugh at the realization that they’re playing with each other. These massive military beasts, strong enough to kill a man with one swipe of their claws, are playing.

His heart feels lighter than it has in months as he watches the two dragons frolic in the water. So, Glory and Ravenna are friends now – he’s rather ashamed that he hadn’t noticed that before. But he’s glad. Glory hasn’t had much time to make friends of his own kind, and Erwin hasn’t been around enough for him. He deserves companionship as much as anyone.

“Oi!” someone shouts from upriver. It’s a familiar voice, but the raised, emphatic tone is a change from its normal monotone. It’s a tone, Erwin guesses, that’s primarily reserved for his dragon. Erwin looks for the source of the voice, but wherever the captain is, he’s hidden by the playing dragons. “Try not to drown me while you two are fucking around.”

Ravenna bounds toward her rider and now, with two dragons separated and no longer blocking Erwin’s view, the captain appears. He stands in the water, dripping wet, the current lapping around his thighs, and he is stark naked.

Which is, really, incredibly unfair.

Erwin averts his eyes as he hears Levi gripe something about a couple of overgrown children. He meets Glory’s gaze instead and finds a scrutinizing look that Erwin is probably reading too much into. He takes this opportunity to gulp down his morning porridge.

A moment later Ravenna lifts into the air to rejoin the company. Glory follows shortly after, showering water droplets over Erwin. Erwin breathes more easily when they – and presumably Levi – are gone. He allows himself a minute alone to finish his breakfast before rejoining the company.  

The rush of the current seems louder without the dragons around, and it muffles all other noise. It makes the sounds of the aviators back at his camp are little more than distant echoes. The sound of someone walking downriver towards him is completely undetectable.

Erwin’s bent over the water, rinsing out his porridge bowl, when a shadow falls over him. But though Erwin didn’t see his approach, he knows exactly who it is. He rises to face Levi – and, much to his chagrin, finds that he has not yet gotten dressed.

“Captain,” Erwin says. He looks very intently at Levi’s forehead and not an inch lower, praying that the heat on his face doesn’t show in the form of a flush. “I am sorry to intrude on what you clearly hoped to be a private time. I came to greet Glory, and I did not realize you would be . . . bathing.”

For an unbearably long time, Levi doesn’t speak. He crosses his arms and looks at Erwin, his gaze steely and unreadable. Rather than walk on the dirt and fallen leaves of the forest floor, Levi had been wading through the shallows of the river. Now he stands on a rock that protrudes from the bank, seeming to hover on top of the waves. Sunlight reflects off the water droplets that cover his body, glimmering on his skin and tempting Erwin to lower his gaze.

“My clothes are over there,” he says, nodding towards some point past Erwin. Then, with an eyebrow quirked up, he asks, “What’s wrong? Feeling shy? That wasn’t the case last night.” 

Erwin clears his throat. Levi’s given him the perfect opening for an apology, and he’d be cowardly not to take it. “I would like to apologize for that, captain. My actions last night were immensely inappropriate, and I greatly regret them. I am sorry for taking advantage of you, and it will not happen again. Please accept my sincerest regrets.”

Levi doesn’t respond. The gurgling of the current seems to fill Erwin’s senses, narrowing his focus to the river and the man who stands in it. Erwin waits anxiously, unable to guess what kind of response he’ll get.

Eventually Levi says, “Look me in the eye.”

Erwin does. But his greater height means he can’t look Levi in the eye without looking down, catching a glimpse of his shoulders and torso and the way water travels across the planes of his chest. Erwin keeps his focus trained on those eyes, though, willing the steel gray gaze to take up the entirety of his vision.

“This I never thought I would see. The unflappable sovereign flustered because he kissed the wrong guy last night.”

“Even a king can make shameful mistakes. I am merely human,” Erwin says.

“And you’re reminding me why I prefer dragons.”

He steps off the rock and into the shallows, wading past Erwin without looking at him. His steps across the riverbed are smooth and confident, seemingly at home in the rocky shallows, as wild and graceful as the river itself. As soon as Levi’s past him, Erwin’s eyes drift downwards before he can control himself. The glance lasts less than a second, but the memory of what he sees lasts far longer.

“Usually, if you want something, you ask for it,” Levi says as he passes. “But I guess that doesn’t apply to a king, does it? You can take whatever you want, and people are supposed to be grateful you chose to take from them.”

“No,” Erwin says. “No, I don’t believe that at all. I should have never taken anything from you.”

Levi makes a dismissive noise. “Don’t say things you don’t mean. You took something from me before you even met me.”

“And what was that?”

“Your family took my freedom by making all dragons serve in the military.”

Out of all things for Levi to bring up now – naked and in the middle of the woods – that was not what Erwin expected. Though Erwin muses that he shouldn’t be surprised that a conversation with Levi has somehow turned to dragons. “That rule only applies to dragons,” Erwin says. “You could have done as you liked.”

“And live without Ravenna?” Levi stops walking and glances over his shoulder, black hair sending drops of water trickling down his back. “Would you do that? Choose to live without Glory for the rest of your life?”

Erwin’s life doesn’t revolve around his dragon as Levi’s does, and the logical answer is to say that he would, that no other creature is worth sacrificing his freedom for. But when he considers living a life that doesn’t have Glory in it, his answer is clear. “No.”

“Working in a dragon hatchery was supposed to be a temporary thing,” Levi says, and a resentful bite creeps into his tone. “Save up some money, move on to another job. Then she hatches, and she chose me. Ignored all the aviators dying to be her captain and chose me instead. After that nothing else mattered anymore. Do you get that? Nothing. Not you, not your country, not your war. We joined the aerial corps because if we were going to stay together, we had to.”

“And that’s why you deserted when you got the chance,” Erwin says.

Levi nods. “You took our life from us. We tried to take it back.”

“And the other dragons you convinced to desert with you?”

“Were miserable in the aerial corps, and their riders didn’t even notice. Or if they did, they didn’t care because they were so obsessed with loyalty and patriotism. But why should a dragon be loyal to a king that just uses them for your wars? Why should they be patriotic to a country that sees them as mere animals?”   

Erwin’s momentarily stunned by Levi’s words, and more stunned at how self-evident they are. Everything he says rings true; how can it be that Erwin’s never seen it from that perspective before?

“I am truly sorry,” Erwin says. “I recognize now what has fueled your hatred towards me. Please understand that I have had little other choice. If I did not keep an aerial corps, this country would have been overrun long ago by a more powerful nation that did.”

Levi stands unmoving in the current, water lapping at his bare ankles. He’s still looking over his shoulder, but he’s stopped looking at Erwin. Now his gaze is turned unfocused into the wood that grows up to the riverbank. Erwin can see him tense minutely – his shoulders rise, his jaw clenches. Then, with a sigh, he releases the tension.

“I don’t hate you,” he says. The words are muttered quietly, almost grudgingly, so soft that Erwin’s not sure if they were truly said or if the sound of current was merely playing tricks on him.

*****

The hills grow taller and steeper as they travel between the peaks, the countryside steadily wilder. They follow the hills northwest, where they will eventually merge with the eastern foothills of the Maria Mountains. The company passes by rivers, lakes, and peaks that aren’t marked on any of Erwin’s maps, the country so remote that few have yet explored it.

They spot the Titan army after three days of travel.

They’re flying on dragonback, using the hills as cover. But early in the afternoon the hills drop away to the west, and Erwin can see a shadow on the ground that stretches almost to the horizon. From this high up in the air, it’s only a dark blur, indistinguishable from a forest if he doesn’t look closely. But Erwin’s been staring at his maps for long enough to know that there’s no forest there.

“Your majesty, should we walk for better cover?” one of the aviators calls to Erwin from further down Glory’s back.

Erwin peers around Glory’s neck to examine the ground below. The dragon’s shadow spreads over the trees in a jagged shape, constantly changing size and position as it passes over rocky, uneven ground. With the dense tree line and the hilly terrain, it’ll be near impossible to find a route that the dragons can walk. It’ll take too long, and the presence of the army gives Erwin a feeling that he has no time to spare.

“No, we would lose too much time,” Erwin calls back over the wind. “We’ll have to keep flying.” And hope that they’re too far away to be seen.

Erwin wears a spyglass in his belt, and he now stands and unfolds it. The leather harness around his waist keeps him strapped securely to Glory, but even without it he would feel no danger of falling. The movement of Glory’s powerful wings under Erwin’s feet has begun to feel natural in the past week, like a sailor who has gotten accustomed to the rocking of a ship at sea.

He’s too far away to make out much detail through the spyglass, but he can see telltale signs of an army – the light of campfires, rows of structures that mist be tents, large blocks of people moving as they practice drills.

“They’ve traveled further north,” Erwin mutters to himself. It’s been about a week since Levi first sighted the Titan army, and their current position suggests a fast march directly north, further away from civilization. Why? There’s no military advantage in such a remote area, and no resources for them to harness. It could arguably be a good spot for an army to camp if it were to pause its campaign for a time, but now, in the height of summer and on the heels of significant wins, no military general would consider taking a break.

He lowers the spyglass and glances ahead of him. About a mile away, a tall hill rises almost directly in front of them. If they veer to the east a bit to go around it, they’ll be out of sight of the Titans again. He considers raising some signal flags to communicate as much to Levi, but decides he doesn’t need to. He trusts Levi and Ravenna to pick the best route.

It’s an odd thought to have – at the beginning of this journey, Erwin trusted Levi only as far as he felt confident in his ability to manipulate him. And now, after Levi’s explained the exact motivations behind his traitorous actions, Erwin should, perhaps, trust him less. After all, he didn’t seem particularly repentant. But instead Erwin trusts him more.

Perhaps it’s because Levi has been so honest with him. Every time he has spoken with Erwin, he’s stated the blunt truth, even in situations where some might consider doing so disrespectful. Few had the courage – or perhaps one could even say the integrity – to do that with their king. Though, Levi hasn’t spoken with Erwin recently on any matter besides travel plans or campsite chores – not since that conversation by the river.

Now Levi sits with his knees drawn up at the nape of Ravenna’s neck, gazing at the Titan army. His head is turned, and Erwin can see his profile, fine black hair blowing away from his delicate features. He sits so still that he could be a portrait, and Erwin thinks that the scene would make quite a compelling one – a lone rider atop an unharnessed dragon, sitting as comfortably as though he were on solid ground, with an enigmatic expression on his face as he stares into the distance. If only Erwin knew how to paint, he would like to try to capture the scene.

Erwin shakes his head and looks away from Levi, sitting back down on the nape of Glory’s neck as they pass to the east of the next hill. What foolish thoughts. Levi would probably be disgusted if he knew them.

After that humiliating kiss, Erwin has had to admit to himself that he does, in fact, desire Levi. He desires him in a physical way as much as he’s fascinated by him intellectually. It’s an unfortunate truth that cannot be helped. What can be helped, however, is how Erwin behaves. And he intends to behave with restraint. Out of respect for Levi, Erwin will not attempt to take what he desires.

They find a spot to make camp as the sun is setting. A ledge juts out from the south side of one of the hills, just barely spacious enough to hold everyone. They forego tents for the night, unable to pitch them on the stone and unable to fit all of them onto what little flat space they have. The two dragons take up positions on either side of the company, sheltering them from the worst of the wind.

Once the bedrolls are unpacked and dinner is being cooked, Erwin goes to the far western side of the ledge to steal a moment alone. There’s a few more feet of flat stone on Glory’s far side, too narrow for a dragon but plenty big enough for a human. Glory lifts his head so that Erwin can pass under him to reach this area. From here, Erwin can see the Titan army more clearly than he could earlier that afternoon. He can see fires and tents, and small specks of people moving about in the twilight. Above them, dragons circle in a constant guard. There seems to be an endless amount of them; every time Erwin thinks he has the full count of their dragon corps, a new one rises from the ground.

To the north, the Maria Mountains loom over them. It’s the only feature of note in this otherwise barren northern landscape – the jagged mountain range that shelters hidden valleys populated by wild dragons. Their goal. Unfortunate that the Titans should be so close to it. Perhaps they would have to approach it from the north in order to –

But then Erwin realizes that it doesn’t matter where they approach the mountains from. He’s already too late.

Glory somehow picks up on Erwin’s alarm and makes a noise of concern from behind him. Erwin barely notices. His mind is racing, going through all the facts in the hope that he’s missed something, and his latest conclusion is wrong. There are dragons flying over the army – dragons that Levi didn’t see when he first spotted it. But the Titans had a lot of dragons in their aerial corps, and they feasibly could have joined the army sometime within the past week. There had to be another reason why the Titans would come to the Maria Mountains. There had to be.

He tries to make himself to think, to find the one conclusion that anyone else would miss that would provide a last sliver of hope. He’s always been able to do that. He’s always been able to see to see the hidden angles and come up with the clever plan, the right gamble to save the day.

But he hadn’t seen all the facts fast enough this time, and now his clever plan has failed before it could even truly begin. There’s no alternate reason why the Titans would be camping so near the Maria Mountains. They came to recruit the feral dragons, and judging by the number of the beasts circling above the army, it appears that they’ve already succeeded.

A scaly blue talon slides in front of Erwin, and then a foreleg circles protectively around him. He’s aware of it distantly, as though it were happening to someone else, but he doesn’t respond to Glory’s show of concern. At the moment, it seems irrelevant. His hopes for his nation, all his efforts and gambles and prayers, have come to nothing.

There’s a voice, and a plate of food gets placed on top of Glory’s foreleg. Erwin stares at it. He stares back at the distant dragons.

On feet that move independently of his will, he walks around Glory’s leg to the edge of the ledge. His survival instincts tell him that he’s dangerously close to falling off. And if he did, he’d probably deserve it. A king who failed his country. Who left his people on a desperate mission, and was too dense to see that his mission was being undermined. He should have known when they first spotted the Titan army, should have understood, should have never taken the detour through the eastern hills, should have . . .

“Hey!” Someone drags him away from the edge. Erwin stumbles backwards until he hits the stone mountainside. Levi’s face is in his vision, blocking out the view of the Titans’ dragons. “What the hell is going on?”

Erwin shakes his head. “I’m sorry. I . . .” He has to communicate this, though he struggles to form the words. He’s going to have to communicate this to his company, too. God, how will he do that? How can he look at them? “I’m sorry. The plan . . . the plan has failed.”

“The fuck do you mean it’s failed? We haven’t even gotten to the mountains yet.”

Erwin shakes his head. “No. The ferals have already been recruited. Look.” He points to the Titan army. To their dragons. “You saw no dragons when you first spotted the army, but now there are scores of them. And why else would they move the army here? Why would they come this far north, where hardly anyone lives and no resources exist? They’ve come for no other reason than to recruit the ferals, and then they’ll . . .” Erwin can barely bring himself to say it. They’ll march south. They’ll raze the countryside as they go, using the combined ground troops and feral dragons to ensure that there’s effectively no resistance. The reputation of the massive force will precede them, and by the time they reach Sina, the people may just open the gates to them to spare their own lives. Or they may put up a brave last stand and get slaughtered. Either way, the Titans will win. And his nation will fall.

Erwin looks at Levi, and for some reason that’s even worse. Knowing that he’s betrayed this man, on top of everything. “I’m sorry, Levi. I’ve failed.”

Levi takes a breath. He mutters, “Bullshit,” though Erwin’s not sure if he’s referring to what Erwin said or to the whole situation. Then he’s gone, leaving Erwin alone to look over the force that will destroy his people.

He knows now how history will remember him. As the man who let his nation fall.

The wind brings a voice to him, though Erwin barely hears it. “Glory, grab your human.”

Then a claw hooks the back of Erwin’s tunic with surprising gentleness, pulling him away from the mountain face. Erwin turns to see Levi standing by Glory’s head. His bedroll and pallet have been laid inside Glory’s right foreleg, and Levi holds the bowl that had previously been on his claw.

“You expect me to sleep?” Erwin asks.

“You can be miserable on the cold stone or you can be miserable in your bed,” Levi says. “Your choice.”

Erwin shakes his head. “Levi, the Titans-”

“I know,” Levi says. “I know, Erwin.”

Something about the way Levi says his name snaps Erwin out of his stupor enough for him to take the few remaining steps to his bedroll. Glory creates a protective pocket with his foreleg and wing, shielding Erwin and Levi inside it. Levi puts the bowl on the ground before Erwin and places a mug of ale in his hand.

Erwin shakes his head. “This is a waste of time,” he says. “I have to speak with the company. I have to decide-”

“You’re not yourself,” Levi cuts him off. “You’re not thinking clearly.”

“I’m thinking clearly enough,” Erwin protests. “I understand that-”

“I know you’re thinking clearly enough. But not as clearly as you usually do. You just had your world crash down around you. Let me make the decisions tonight.”

“I could never do that.”

“Erwin.” Levi levels his steel gaze on Erwin, and he realizes distantly that Levi has never used his first name before tonight. “Do you trust me?”

Such a simple question. A few weeks ago, the answer would have been a firm “no.” But now, without a thought, Erwin says, “Yes.”

“And I trust you,” Levi replies, seemingly nonsensically. “Now trust me in this, and get some rest. There is nothing you can do right now that will change anything. So deal with this in the morning.”

It’s an absurd request; a king doesn’t simply rest when his nation is on the brink of destruction. But once Levi leaves, Glory positions his head and body so that Erwin cannot get past him to the rest of the camp, and he brings his wing low enough that Erwin cannot move beyond him to the edge of the ledge. He’s effectively trapped Erwin, and for a moment Erwin’s furious at both him and Levi. He yells at Glory to move, and for the first time in Erwin’s life, Glory disobeys his command.

But being trapped under there means he can do little else besides think. And when he thinks, he reluctantly recognizes that what Levi said is true – there’s nothing Erwin can do now to change anything. There is nothing he can possibly do but pace inside the blue cave that Glory’s body creates, and think.

He thinks about how this happened, and why, and what could have possibly been done to avoid it. Erwin sits down as the sun sets, picking at his dinner while he thinks about every angle and every probability and every detail of the situation he finds himself in. He thinks until long after Glory has dropped off to sleep. He thinks until his eyes, at long last, droop closed.                   

*****

“I have come to the conclusion that our nation’s only recourse is for me to turn myself in. Once in the Titan’s power, I can negotiate a peaceful surrender and minimize casualties under Titan rule.”

His aviators stand in a half circle around Erwin, looking up at him expectantly. And even as he speaks, their expectant looks remain. The members of his company are unable to accept what they’re hearing – that their king, who always has a plan, has finally decided to give up.

These are good aviators, some of the best, men and women handpicked by Mike to accompany Erwin. Even after weeks of exhausting travel, they stand firm and proud at attention, their royal uniforms pressed and cleaned as though they were on a training field Sina instead of a mountain ledge in the wilderness. A model crew that Erwin has led to their death.

“Glory will come with me,” Erwin continues. “The Titans are well aware that the king has a dragon, and they understand that no dragon captain can be safely kept unless the dragon is also restrained. However, I do not ask that you join me. You have all come far enough. Once I leave to surrender, you will be free to go.”

The crew continues to stare at him, though now the expectant looks begin to fade as each aviator realizes that Erwin’s serious. In their places come shock, then fear, then despair, each more painful to Erwin then the last. Yet these career soldiers don’t protest or even move from standing at attention. They’re as still and silent as the mountaintops while the wind whistles between them.

Eventually, one young man speaks up. “With all due respect, your majesty, where would we go?” he asks. “There’s nothing for us in a country under Titan rule. I would rather surrender with my king and then submit to them.” Some of the other aviators nod in agreement. Not a single one dissents.

Erwin sighs. It’s the response he expected, and the one he had planned for. But still, a part of him wishes they had been a bit more selfish.

“I will not turn away anyone who decides to come with me, but neither will I condemn anyone who does not,” Erwin says. “Before you make this choice, I urge all of you to consider how much of your life lies ahead of you.”  

“The corps is our life,” a young woman says, stepping forward. “I would be honored to surrender with my king.”

The man who had first spoken steps forward as well. “And I.”

And then there is a chorus of “And I’s” as, one by one, each aviator commits to sacrificing themselves. They salute, fists to their hearts, dedicating themselves to their king’s service.

Erwin only wishes that he could have been a king worthy of their dedication. That he could have led them to victory, not this suicidal surrender.  

“Very well,” Erwin says. “With a heavy heart, I recognize the bravery and valor of each and every one of you. History will remember your sacrifice and know you as heroes.”

*****

Packing up camp takes an unsettlingly short time, though Erwin notices his company attempting to make it take longer. Erwin catches Levi’s eye and tilts his head towards the western edge of the ledge, beyond where Glory sits. Then he approaches his dragon, stroking his nose and whispering encouraging reminders to him. A moment later, Levi approaches.

“Captain. Something I’d like to discuss with you,” Erwin says formally. Glory raises his head, allowing them to pass under. Once they’re on the other side, Glory lowers it again to separate them from the rest of the camp.

When Erwin’s assured of their privacy, he pulls out a sheet of paper from inside his tunic and hands it to Levi. Levi unfolds it, revealing a document written in Erwin’s hand. His brow furrows as he tries to make sense of what he sees. “What’s this?”

“A forged identity,” Erwin says. “If I did my job correctly, it’ll allow you to live peacefully in Karennes, the nation that borders us to the northeast. It’s free from Titan rule, for now. And they have more lenient laws regarding conscription in their aerial corps.”

Levi lifts his gaze away from the paper to look at Erwin, though his brow is still furrowed in confusion. “Why would you do this?”

“If the worst should happen, I want you and Ravenna to leave. Don’t stay for me or for any other reason. Go somewhere you can start a new life.” And then, when Levi doesn’t respond, he adds, “I’m setting you free, Levi.”

Levi’s bewildered expression doesn’t change, and he stares back at the document he holds as though it’s written in a foreign language. “There’s no reason for you to do this.”

“Of course there is.”

“Did you write this last night? When you were busy thinking about the fate of your whole damn country?”

“This morning, before dawn.”

“Why?”

“Because you deserve it,” Erwin says. “In the brief time I’ve known you, you have forced me to think a great deal about leadership and respect. You value your freedom more than you value hierarchy or national loyalty. It’s a perspective I am not accustomed to, but I’ve come to understand it and, in a way, respect it. The fact that you have ultimately chosen to serve me in spite of your beliefs is the greatest honor.”

“Honor? I thought I was a pain in your ass.”

In spite of all that’s happening, Erwin feels himself smile. “You were a bit of both.”

Levi snorts, shaking his head as he folds up the paper. “Yeah, well, you too,” he says. He tucks the paper into his belt, keeping his eyes down. His movements become uncharacteristically clumsy as he begins to turn away. “Don’t get yourself killed in that Titan camp.”

“I’ll do my best,” Erwin replies.

Levi shakes his head again. He had been in the process of leaving, but now he stops, half-turned away from Erwin and frozen in place. One hand remains on the document Erwin prepared for him. Erwin can hear him deliberately breath in and out, and he can see a subtle shake of his head. Then he turns around, wraps his fist in the front of Erwin’s shirt, and kisses him.

There’s a moment when a dragon first leaps into the air that never fails to be exhilarating – an equal mix of excitement and fear as the world drops away and gravity becomes meaningless. That’s what a kiss from Levi feels like. Gravity ceases to exist; his stomach drops, his heart speeds up. The ground disappears beneath him, and holding onto Levi becomes the only thing that will keep him from falling.

Levi pulls away all too soon, leaving Erwin cold.

He stops by Glory’s side and turns his head just enough to look at Erwin out of the corner of his eye. With a quiet voice still slightly breathless from the kiss, he says, “Good luck, Erwin.”

“You too, Levi.”

Glory obediently lifts his head to allow Levi to pass. A moment later, Ravenna rises into the air, the dragon speaker on her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to finish this story thanks to persuasion from a friend : ) There's going to be 6 chapters in all. A lot of Things happen in the next couple chapters so I'm pretty excited.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy chapter! 
> 
> This chapter has a lot of action scenes, which I'm not very practiced in, so hopefully it came out ok! (Irrelevant side note - I kind of feel like action scenes are like the antithesis of smut scenes. In smut, you gotta make sure the reader can visualize exactly what everyone's doing, but describe it at a slow, sensuous pace. In action, you gotta make sure the reader can visualize exactly what everyone's doing, but describe it at a fast, tense pace. It's very interesting. Or maybe it's not but I think it is because I'm a nerd. Tl;dr this smut/romance writer finds action scenes kinda hard.) 
> 
> As always, thanks to everyone who left comments and kudos <3

It doesn’t take long for Titan soldiers to respond to Erwin’s white flag.

They work efficiently, surrounding Erwin and his crew the moment they step off of Glory’s back. He and the aviators are stripped of weapons and dragon riding harnesses, their hands tied behind their backs and their ankles bound together so they can’t run. Another team of men come with chains that clip onto Glory’s harness, taking him captive.

Of course, if Glory really didn’t consent to being taken, all the chains in the world couldn’t hold him. But he allows it to happen because Erwin had spoken to him earlier, asking him too. The chains are more of a humiliation than anything. He looks at Erwin with pain in his eyes as the two of them are dragged off in separate directions, and a quiet moan escapes him. Erwin holds his gaze until the two of them are completely separated.

The Titan camp feels like a surreal impersonation of a normal military camp. The rows of tents are familiar to Erwin, but they’re slightly bigger than what he’s accustomed to, built to accommodate the Titans’ greater size. The effect is a feeling of being dwarfed, that the very location is attempting to subjugate Erwin. People lean out from behind tent flaps or from between the rows and leer at him, shouting taunts and insults as they pass. Occasionally, Erwin has to duck to avoid rotten food or worse. And all the while dragons patrol the skies above, creating a sense of unreality with the constantly shifting light as they pass over head, alternatively blocking the sun and letting it shine through.

He and his aviators are taken to a prison tent. It’s empty for now, but there are dozens of thick stakes pounded into the ground. Erwin and his aviators are each tied to one and then left under guard. They aren’t left there for long, though. Less than an hour passes before a Titan soldier enters the prison tent, leering down at them from his great height.

“Which of you is the king?” he asks.

Erwin straightens up as much as he can in his bonds. “I am.”

The leer spreads across the soldier’s face, and then he unties Erwin from his post. A half-dozen other guards wait outside, quite an excessive number to for a man bound hand and foot. But Erwin is something of a valuable prize. Two of these guards take Erwin by the arms and drag him through the camp, intentionally moving faster than his hobbled ankles can keep up. More Titans appear as he’s taken through camp, apparently having heard the news that the king has surrendered, and jeering shouts rise up like the roar of a wave.

He’s taken into a wide, round tent and tossed onto the reed mats on the floor. Before him is a high-backed, cushioned chair that looks something like a throne. A Titan sits in it, a heavy, dark-haired man who seems to be short by Titan standards. He looks down at Erwin and grins.

“So. This is the King Erwin who’s been so irritating these past few years.”

“It is,” Erwin replies. He lifts himself onto his knees, though his bonds prevent him from standing fully.

“Not so clever now, are you? What brought you all the way out here, away from your city?”

“I had hoped to recruit the feral dragons to my cause.”

The man barks out a laugh of disbelief. When Erwin makes no protest or excuse, he continues to laugh as though he’s heard the best joke of his life. “But we beat you to it! Oh, this is rich. Tell me, how did you expect to control the ferals?”

“I have a way with dragons.”

This sets off another peal of mocking laughter. “A way with dragons,” he repeats. “You’re just going to control ferals because you have a way with dragons? You’re far less competent than you had us believe, King Erwin.”

“Is that not how you managed to persuade them?” Erwin asks, hoping to learn what truly drove the ferals to side with the Titans.

“No! Not in the least,” the Titan says. “You can’t control anyone by just asking them to join you. It’s true with people as it’s true with beasts. No, we took thirty of our dragons into their colony and made it explicitly clear that their young would get cannibalized if they didn’t join with us. They flocked over to our forces after that.”

“I see.”   

“Now tell me, where’s the rest of your crew? You had some aviators and servants sacrifice themselves with you to make us think that’s all there is to the company, but I know it isn’t.”

“It is,” Erwin says. “I was traveling with no one else.”

“Not a man more?”

“Not a man more.”

The Titan nods to a guard near the door. “Make him a little more truthful.”

Erwin knows what’s coming and braces himself for it. The first blow lands on his temple, delivered by a sword hilt. It’s hard enough to knock him over, and nearly hard enough to knock him out. Then heavy boots kick him several times, until he can’t tell where one newly formed bruise begins and the other ends.

He’s yanked back to his knees when the guard is done, and then the Titan leans down and hisses, “Now, tell me again. Who else were you traveling with?”

Now to appear to have given in, and make this Titan feel as though he has the upper hand. “There was one other man. A dragon captain whose dragon we used for supplies. He refused to surrender with me. We let him go. He went back east, into the hills.”

“A dragon in low hills won’t be too hard to find. Lieutenant.” The guard straightens up and salutes. “When we’re done here, put together a company of soldiers to hunt this final man down.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Now.” The Titan turns back to Erwin. “Why turn yourself in at this point? You must know what your fate’s going to be.”

“I hoped to negotiate.”

“Negotiate?” He barks a laugh. “You have nothing to negotiate with.”

“I have critical information about governing this nation that you will need to know.”

“No, we won’t. We’ve taken over enough countries that we know how to subjugate people. Your governing practices don’t concern us.”

“And I know important information about Sina you’ll need to take the city,” Erwin bluffs.

“We have twenty thousand troops and three hundred dragons.”

“Twenty thousand? There can’t be more than eight thousand here.”

“Of course,” the Titan says, rolling his eyes. “We didn’t move our entire army to this empty stretch of land just to collect the ferals. Six thousand troops will be approaching from the east, six thousand from the west. With us descending from the north and our navy attacking from sea, we’ll have your city surrounded.”

“That sounds like a complex rendezvous,” he says, hoping to coax out a little bit more about the Titans’ plans and find some kind of weakness. Though what weakness would lead to the defeat of such a large force coming from all sides, Erwin doesn’t know.  

“Every section knows the date of the attack. It will work.”

“It will require this entire camp to move at the precise date determined. From what I’ve seen, this camp doesn’t seem ready to move any time soon.”

“It’s so sweet that you care about our success in taking your country,” the Titan replies sarcastically. Seeing that this line of questioning has reached a dead end, Erwin tries another angle.

“And once the city’s taken? What then?”

“Then your head will be displayed over the gates of your own castle while we put the country under Titan rule.”

“This is a spirited country. People will not bow to you willingly.”

“They never do,” the Titan says. “But as I said, we’re very good at subjugating people.”

“Why do you do this? Why take over so many lands?”

“Why?” The Titan crouches before Erwin and grips his chin in his hand, forcing him to look into the Titan’s eyes. It’s an unnecessary move. Erwin has every intention of staring this man down. “Because only by dominating others can you achieve what you want. This is a simple fact that’s been forgotten by your weak country. There are only two classes of people: those who subjugate, and those who are subjugated. Your failure as a king is your inability to realize this.”

Erwin has had many failings as a king. But he doesn’t think that’s one of them.

“I see,” he says, keeping his voice carefully neutral. “Thank you for sharing your philosophy, that was very enlightening.”

“You’re not in much of a position to be mocking me, King Erwin.” He lets go of Erwin’s chin and sits back. “Prepare the king for execution.”  

A Titan grabs Erwin roughly by the arm and yanks him onto his feet. “When will the execution be?” Erwin asks.

“Why, right now.”

“Right now?” No. It can’t be so soon.

“Why not? It’ll be good for morale.” The Titan smiles at him. “I’ve heard your reputation, clever King Erwin. You don’t appear very clever right now, but I know not to take a chance on you. You won’t have time to go through with any of your plots.”

Before Erwin can respond, the Titan guards grab him by both arms and drag him out of the tent. Soldiers look up from their tasks, gawking at the captive king. Then one of the guards shouts to them that Erwin’s execution is imminent, drawing cheers and taunts from the surrounding soldiers. In no time there’s a crowd parading behind Erwin, growing larger every second.

Erwin had come into the titan camp with few doubts about whether he would be executed. But he hadn’t expected it to come so soon. He had assumed there would be more interrogations, perhaps torture, at the very least a few hours taken to turn his execution into a camp-wide ceremony. He hadn’t been banking on having so little time.

The crowd grows larger by the second. Erwin sees Titans passing around drinks, cheering, throwing refuse in his direction. He approaches a wooden platform near the center of the camp. Dark red streaks trail across the boards.

He glances around him, taking in the position of the guards, wondering if he should struggle. But what would the end result be? There are too many Titans, and he has too much of a disadvantage, to escape. He considers different methods by which he could delay his execution, each more desperate than the last. But there’s little he can do in his current situation. Nothing he could do that wouldn’t rouse suspicion in the Titans.

Erwin keeps his head high as he accepts his fate.

He’s dragged onto the platform, nearly falling as he’s forced to take a step larger than what his hobble allows. Two guards grip him on either side, with a third holding a sword to his throat to make sure he doesn’t try to struggle. The crowds surge around the platform, growing continuously to an innumerable amount of people. Soldiers climb on tent posts and crates to get a better look. Officers push through the crowds to get the best spot at the front. The whole camp has the air of a holiday – a cruel, bloodthirsty holiday.

When no more people could possibly fit in the space near the platform, two more guards mount it. One carries a large block of wood. The other a broad-bladed axe.

Erwin’s forced to his knees. He tries to keep his head up to at the very least die with dignity, but his head is forced down. His neck is pressed onto the chopping block.

Time slips into unreality while he waits for the axe to fall. He closes his eyes and thinks of his nation, and wonders who will step up to lead his people and resist the Titans when he’s not there. He thinks of his father and his mother, dead too soon, and of Hanji and Mike and everyone he cared for. He thinks of Glory. God, he hopes Glory will be able to heal. He hopes Glory will find another rider after the axe falls.

And he thinks of Levi. Levi, who he barely got to know, but who changed Erwin’s perspective on so many things. He hopes desperately that Levi will find success on his mission, even if Erwin’s not around to see it.

Time passes, but the axe doesn’t fall.

Cautiously, Erwin opens his eyes. Out of his peripheral vision, he can see a clump of Titan soldiers. They’ve stopped their cheering and are no longer looking at Erwin. Instead, they’re looking at the sky.

That’s when Erwin hears the roar.

It starts as a solitary call, the sound of a lone dragon gone rogue. But then another answers it, and another. The roar gradually build into a chorus, and then massive shadows blot out the sunlight above.

One set of hands that had been holding Erwin down suddenly disappear, and Erwin’s able to pull himself free. He stumbles backwards and looks up just in time to see the guard who had been holding him lifted away from the platform, secure in a dragon’s claws.

Erwin hurries away from the guards, moving as quickly as his hobble allows. He jumps off the platform and immediately begins looking about for a weapon. All eyes were on him just a few minutes ago, but now he moves freely, without attracting anyone’s attention. All Titan soldiers are looking up instead, and for good reason. Dragons swoop down around them, picking up groups of soldiers and tossing them away as though they were dolls. None have riders, and none wear harnesses; these are the ferals. And they’re rebelling against their Titan masters.

As a group, the dragons rise up a little, and for a moment it appears as though they’ll fly away. Then, all at once, they drop to the ground.

Erwin turns away from the slaughter, though he can’t help but hear the cries of the Titan soldiers as dragons rake their claws through the ranks. They’ve done him a favor by gathering so much of their force in one place, but the Titan aviators are still unaccounted for, as are the loyal Titan dragons. This particular battle is far from over.

He finds a discarded knife outside one of the tents, left beside a soldier’s unfinished meal. Now probably never to be finished. It takes some time to cut through the ropes that bind his hands behind him, but he manages to grip the hilt with his fingers and saw through. As soon as his hands are free, he removes his hobble and then hurries to the prison tent. Dragons continue to circle above him, diving down at regular intervals to toss aside Titans and sweep their massive tails through the camp. 

“Your majesty, what’s going on?” one of his aviators asks as soon as Erwin enters the tent where they’re being held.

“Dragon rebellion,” Erwin explains as he begins cutting through their bonds. “The ferals are attacking the Titan army. They’re being successful at the moment, but the aerial corps will soon come to put up a fight. We must get to Glory, and help lead these ferals in an organized attack.”

“But why are they rebelling?” an aviator asks.

Before Erwin can answer, another aviator smiles and speaks up. “Captain Ackerman,” he says. “That’s it, isn’t it? The captain got to these dragons and somehow managed to convince them to rebel. That was your plot all along.”

“Yes,” Erwin replies, freeing the last of the aviators. “It was a gamble, developed at the last minute. But yes, this is precisely what I intended to occur.” He doesn’t tell them that Levi had worked faster than Erwin would have ever expected, turning the ferals in less than the time he expected him to take sneaking into the camp. He doesn’t know what prompted the dragon speaker to try to work so quickly. But once again, Erwin owes Levi his life.

“Always another plot,” the aviator says with a grin, and now the other aviators start to smile as well. They’re gaining back their morale, filled with the giddy relief of escaping death.

“And this plot needs you,” Erwin says. “Let’s get our dragon.”

*****

The Titan dragons join the fight before Erwin and his aviators manage to reach Glory. And in a matter of moments, the tenor of the battle changes.

The shadows above Erwin grow more frenetic as he and his crew sneak through the camp, scrounging for weapons on their way to free Glory. Now the ferals have stopped diving at the camp and have turned their attention to protecting themselves from the tearing claws and biting teeth of the Titans’ dragons. They attack these enemy dragons with speed and agility, but the Titans have years of military training on their side. They know how to feint and strike an unexpected blow, how to fly in formation to separate allies from each other. Stones start dropping from up above, and flaming arrows begin to clutter the air as both aviators and soldiers on the ground shoot them at the ferals.

Dropped stones and flaming arrows are typically weapons used to kill a dragon’s crew, not the dragon itself. But the ferals aren’t used to these dozens of small hurts, and they don’t shake them off like a trained military dragon would. Erwin glances up and sees the ferals scratching out arrows, giving the Titan dragons ample openings to attack. While both sides grow bloody quickly, most drops of blood falling from the sky come from the ferals.

Glory’s finally located in a pen at the western edge of the camp, bound with chains that keep his body low to the ground. The aviators waste no time in searching for the keys, which are eventually found in a steel box at the edge of the pen. Their harnesses had been thrown in a pile in the corner of the pen, and while Erwin frees his dragon, the aviators don on the complicated system of straps and buckles with practiced speed.

“My dear Glory,” Erwin says as he unlocks the last bond, a collar around Glory’s neck. He tries to keep his voice calm, though the roars and cries of dragons above them and the constant rain of stones and arrows is anything but calming. “I am so sorry for what I’ve put you through. And yet I need to put you through even more. I need you now, to help me fight. But when this is through, I swear I will give you the reward you deserve.”

The last chain comes off, and Glory draws himself up to his full height. He lifts his head to the sky, and when he roars, even Erwin’s aviators pause what they’re doing for the briefest of moments, awed at the raw power behind that sound. The roar shakes the earth. When he lowers himself back to the ground for the crew to climb on, there’s a fire in his eye.

Erwin lays a hand on the side of his head briefly and murmurs, “Thank you.” Then he runs to put on his own harness and prepare for battle.

The Titan’s hadn’t bothered to take Glory’s harness off, fortunately. The crew quickly scurries up the thin, ladder-like strips that run down Glory’s sides and clip their harnesses to small leather straps embedded in the thicker dragon harness. They have no weapons other than what they were able to scavenge on their way to free Glory – no bows, no stones, nothing but a few short swords and slingshots – but it will have to do.

As captain of Glory’s crew, Erwin mounts last. He forces himself to watch as they check Glory’s harness and position themselves along Glory’s sides, itching to join the battle. But he knows that if his crew rushes through preparations and misses a problem with the harnesses, their time in battle won’t last long.

At long last the aviators finish with their preparations, and Glory rears up on his hind legs. He beats his massive wings to test the security of his harness, sending gusts of wind over Erwin’s head. Arrows and drops of dragon blood rain down around him, but Glory remains unshaken despite the indications of imminent danger, a picture of majesty and strength. A creature Erwin is honored to trust his life to.

Erwin climbs up the harness once Glory comes back down and strides across his broad back. He latches himself into the captain’s spot at the base of Glory’s neck, then looks up at the sky, assessing the battle they’re about to enter.

“There is a formation of five Titan dragons driving a wedge between our feral allies,” Erwin calls to Glory. “Break up that formation.”

Glory jumps into the air, hurtling them toward battle.

He targets the underbelly of the dragon in the center of the formation. This causes him to turn vertical, and Erwin crouches down on top of Glory’s back, one hand gripping one of the straps of Glory’s harness to prevent himself from falling backwards. His own harness would catch him if he let go, but it wouldn’t be very pleasant.

The Titan dragon is caught unawares, not prepared for another dragon to join the fight. Glory rakes his claws across his belly, and a spray of dragon blood splatters across Erwin’s face. Glory doesn’t stop, rising above the formation too quickly for the dragon or its crew to retaliate.

“Slings, fire!” Erwin calls, and the aviators who had managed to scavenge slingshots from the Titan camp now load them. Stones rain down on the Titan dragon and its crew. And though Erwin sees some of them flinch or stumble, none fall. And few are distracted enough to cease knocking an arrow into their bows.

“Glory, archers!”

Glory has been in enough battles that he knows what that means. He dodges nimbly and is careful to keep his belly pointed down, letting what arrows do find their target lodge in his thick scales instead of hitting the significantly more fragile humans on his back. He waits until the volley is over. Then he tucks his wings in at his sides and drops.

The Titan dragon rises to meet him. It slashes at Glory’s neck, and Glory lifts his head away to avoid the blow. He sweeps to the right of the Titan dragon, slashing a claw at his side. The enemy dragon is nimble, but Glory manages to clip his wing before it moves out of the way.

The Titan dragon strikes out with a back claw, his blow aimed at the left flank of Erwin’s crew. Glory flips over to dodge the blow, and suddenly Erwin’s world has inverted itself. His head drops toward the ground, Glory’s back above him. Without enough warning to hang on, Erwin finds himself falling free of Glory’s back. He dangles upside down by the straps of his harness, hundreds of feet above the ground.

Then, in less than a second, Glory rights himself again. Erwin falls back onto his back, hard enough to bruise his knees, and blinks to clear his head of the disorientation. Flips like that are a normal part of dragon-back fighting, and he can’t allow himself to break his concentration during them.

“Your majesty!” someone calls, and Erwin turns in time to see Titans dropping from their own dragon and onto Glory’s back. They hurry to clip their own harnesses onto Glory’s while they draw swords and knives. The aim is to kill the crew and, if possible, the dragon’s captain. If a boarder succeeds at doing that, they can essentially take the dragon out of the fight without having to kill it. Few dragons have the heart to continue on when their rider is dead.

“Glory, shake them,” Erwin calls, and again he’s flipped upside down. When Glory rights himself, a few of the Titans are no longer there. They took too long attaching their harnesses.

But there are still three Titans to contend with, and the crew’s harnesses are short enough that they can’t get fight all of them. Two of the Titans engage with members of Erwin’s crew, wielding swords against the mismatched weapons Erwin’s aviators had managed to steal. The third stays in the middle, along Glory’s spine and out of the reach of the aviators. Moving his clips gradually further up Glory’s back, he advances toward Erwin.

It’ll be roughly two minutes until he reaches Erwin. Erwin draws his knife and turns away, surveying the fight. Glory won’t be able to bring down the dragon he’s engaged with without a lengthy fight, but he’s succeeded in his primary goal of breaking up the formation. Now ferals are surrounding each of the five dragons that had been wedging them apart, teaming up to come at them from all sides. And the Titan dragon Glory’s fighting, with his injured wing, is too slowed down to be much help.

“Glory, disengage,” Erwin calls. “Pull up. I need you to communicate with the ferals.”

Common wisdom states that while dragons are smart, they cannot talk in the strictest sense. They don’t have a language, and they can’t understand complex plans that would need language to be communicated. But Levi seems to think they’re just as smart as any human.

And trusting Levi hasn’t turned out badly yet.

Erwin half turns to the side, keeping a watch on the approaching Titan as he calls to Glory. “Tell them to make shapes like the Titan dragons are doing, strongest in front. Tell them they must all attack at the same time if they are to win. Tell them to stay above the enemy as much as possible, so that they cannot drop stones on them. And once that’s understood, tell them-”

Erwin sees the knife flying through the air at the last second. He ducks, and it scrapes against the back of Glory’s head before falling to the ground. When he rises again, there’s a sword swinging toward his neck.

All Erwin has to fight with is the dinner knife he stole to free his bonds. He raises it to protect himself, but it’s no match for the force behind the sword. The knife gets knocked from his hand and skitters across Glory’s scales, lodging itself under one of the straps of his harness.

But the sudden block, however unsuccessful, throws the Titan off balance, and Erwin takes the opportunity to duck. He crouches down and kicks out, hitting the Titan behind his kneecap and forcing him to land hard of Glory’s back. Glory rises up, head in the sky, and the Titan falls backwards and scrambles for purchases on the harness.

And underneath him, Glory roars.

To Erwin, it sounds unchanging. One sustained, deafening roar that shakes the skin of the back that Erwin crouches against. But the ferals around them look up. And they begin to move.

Erwin hangs on the harness and uses it to pull himself up Glory’s shoulders to where his knife is. Below him, the Titan still dangles in the air, unable to gain purchase on the harness while Glory is ascending at such a steep angle. Every time he manages to grab hold of it, Glory makes a sudden movement that shakes him loose again. But Erwin, accustomed to exactly how Glory prefers to fly, manages to maintain his hold.

Glory can’t keep ascending forever, though, and eventually he turns to a more horizontal angle. The Titan climbs to his feet. Erwin reaches for the knife.

Searing pain in his right arm. Erwin clenches his jaw to keep from crying out. When he looks at his arm, he sees a throwing knife embedded deep in the muscle, blood trickling out in little rivulets around it.

Then the Titan pulls at Erwin’s ankles, forcing him away from his weapon. The knife clips against one of the harness straps, painfully twisting in Erwin’s arm. He sees the sword raise and jumps to his feet just in time to avoid it.

Another sword swing swipes at his ankles, and Erwin almost loses a foot as he jumps out of the way. But this game of back and forth can’t go on forever – he’s unarmed, with nowhere to run, facing a skilled opponent.

When the Titan reaches out to grab him, Erwin doesn’t resist.

He pins Erwin against him, back to front, and holds his sword so close to Erwin’s throat that Erwin can feel it cutting through the top of his skin. “I have your captain,” the Titan yells to Glory. “Surrender now.”

Erwin reaches around with his left hand and tears the knife free of his right arm. In a swift motion, he slams the knife backwards, burying it deep into the Titan’s stomach. Then he rips it free and cuts through the leather of the Titan’s harness.

“He doesn’t have me, Glory,” Erwin calls. “Shake him.”

The world turns upside down, and when it rights itself, the Titan is gone.

He glances down at his arm. The blood is leaving it in spurts – the knife cut an artery, then. He transfers the knife to his right hand and hurries to undo his belt with his left. While he wraps it around the top of his arm in the form of a makeshift tourniquet, he looks out across the battle.

Glory has lifted them at a great height above the main part of the fight, giving Erwin a clear view of how it stands. Further down Glory’s back, his aviators doggedly use their slingshots on Titan soldiers, though it’s difficult to have accurate aim from this great a distance. Still, there’s little else they can do.

The ferals have formed loose formations, modeled after what the Titans have done. But it’s still not enough. The Titans have spent their lives fighting against such formations. They know to come from above and below, to harry the dragons in the middle until the whole formation falls apart. As Erwin watches, ferals tumble to the ground, some dead and some too wounded to stay in the air. Titans break through their ranks, seemingly devouring them with abandon.

Levi is out there, somewhere among the ferals. He persuaded them to rise up, so he must have risen with them. Erwin wonders where Levi is. Wonders how long he’ll last.

Erwin can see now, with stark clarity, that he will die today. He could attempt to escape, keeping himself alive to attempt to save his country another day, but that would leave the ferals to slaughter. If he stays with them, helping to lead and organize them, they’ll be sure to take out a significant number of Titan dragons in the process. And an army without dragons can rarely defeat an army that has some remaining, even if those remaining numbers are low. If Erwin sacrifices himself today, he may preserve his country.

He only regrets that he has to take Levi down with him.

“Glory,” Erwin calls. “See those two formations in the center? Groups of five, each surrounded. If we support them they can join up with each other and be able to advance.”

Glory roars and plummets into battle.

It’s an area of thicker fighting than where they were earlier. They’re surrounded by enemy dragons on all sides, and Glory has to twist and flip to avoid them. The world’s a blur of wings and claws, jaws and scales. Erwin clutches the harness and shouts out orders while his aviators dangle from the harness with one arm, using the other to fell a steady onslaught of boarders. The aviators with slings have run out of stones and now have no choice but to hang on until the battle ends.

Glory lashes out with all the ferocity he has, slashing through wings and soft underbellies, ripping harnesses free of their dragons. An enemy dragon clamps its jaws around Glory’s throat, and his roar of pain cuts through Erwin’s heart. Erwin watches, helpless, as his beloved companion shakes the attacker off. He calls out to him, but his cry is drowned out by a fierce roar as, heedless of his wound, Glory dives back into the battle.

He’s moving slower now, and Erwin’s having a more difficult time calling out orders. He struggles to shut himself off from Glory’s pain, to focus solely on the battle. Boarders jump onto Glory’s shoulders, close to Erwin, and Glory can’t move fast enough to shake them.

Erwin has two knives, and his four adversaries have swords. He watches their approach, calculating how many he can take out before they kill him.

Two attack at once, one from each side. Erwin ducks, lets one Titan’s sword swing into the other’s, and stabs the closest one in the stomach. Than a third is on him, stabbing downwards. Erwin parries with his knife, but the distraction is enough for the fourth to come up close to him, ready to stab at Erwin’s unprotected back.

But without warning Glory dives downward, and his attacker stumbles.

Erwin takes advantage of the stumble to stab out with one of his knives, slashing the Titan across the back of the knee. Glory continues to descend, leaving the battle behind. Is he hurt again? Is he too weak to keep flying?

Erwin stands, prepared to keep fighting. But the two Titans who remain standing have turn their attention away from him. Erwin follows their gaze behind Glory, to where the force of ferals are all dropping just as quickly as he is. Every feral, down to the last dragon, appears to have given up.

A rumble of thunder echoes from the horizon, underscoring the yelps of triumph that the Titans, dragon and all, let out. The boarders turn back to Erwin, grinning in the certainty of victory. The rumble of thunder continues, heralding a fast-approaching storm.

Erwin can see the storm clouds coming from the north, bright red with the setting sun.

His arm throbs with his injury. Blood flows out of it as he tries to ignore it, bright red, dripping red against his knife.

Red.

Storm clouds aren’t red. Not like that.

“What are you smiling about?” one of the boarders demands of Erwin. He gets a cut in Erwin’s left shoulder, but Erwin barely feels it. And now the noise has grown louder, and it’s clear to Erwin that he was mistaken. It’s not thunder.

“Dragons so fierce they can’t be tamed,” Erwin says as an answer.

He glances up in time to see the sky engulfed in flame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOW'S THAT FOR A DRAMATIC ENDING


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (The rating's changed as of this chapter. I apologize to anyone who's disappointed by that change.)

Fire engulfs the Titans in a massive wave, turning the sky from blue to red. The light down below changes, and for a moment it appears as though the whole world is being cleansed with fire. When it clears, Titan dragons are falling from the sky, and ferals wait on the ground to finish off any that managed to run. The ferals don’t have to do much, though. The red dragons soar through the Titan ranks with deadly efficiency.

Beside Erwin, the boarders that had been attacking him cry out with rage. But they’re only distracted for a moment. It’s not long before they return their focus to the only enemy they can still kill. Erwin barely has time to raise his weapons before the two remaining Titan boarders come at him with renewed vigor. Both attack at once, and it’s all Erwin can do to block them.

“You bastard!” one of the Titans growls. “We’re going to make you wish you surrendered quietly when you had the chance. We’re going to cut you-”

But Erwin never hears how the Titan plans to cut him. Before he can finish, a black claw reaches down from above and, almost daintily, rips him off of Glory. At the same time, a rapier slides through the final Titan’s neck.

That Titan falls away, revealing Levi. He glares up at Erwin, arms crossed and face set with disapproval. “Am I going to be saving your sorry ass for the rest of my life, your majesty?”

Glory settles fully on the ground then, and members of Erwin’s crew hurry to him, eager to make sure he’s alright. For the first time in weeks, Erwin feels the tension leaving his body. He meets Levi’s gaze and can’t help but smile.

“I certainly hope so,” he says.

*****

“Three cheers for King Erwin the victorious!”

Everyone in the great hall of Erwin’s castle – from the powerful nobles at the high table to the lesser lords below, from the serving people keeping plates and glasses full to the bards composing songs of Erwin’s courage on the spot – raises a glass. The hall’s filled with the deafening sound of hundreds of voices lifted in cheers.

Erwin gives his subjects a gracious wave, acknowledging them and thanking them, and he takes advantage of this moment when most guests are turned towards him to search for one guest in particular. This is the eighth such round of cheers tonight – it was gratifying at first, but it’s beginning to become a bit tiresome. And Erwin can’t help but feel that he’s being given more credit than he’s due.

“You know, this is a celebration honoring you,” Hanji says, leaning over to him once the cheers have died down and the bards have started up their songs again. “You could stand to let yourself have a little fun.”  

Erwin glances at his admiral. “I am having fun.”

“You could have fooled me.”  

Erwin turns his gaze back across his great hall. It’s filled to the brim with every noble who could make it, and the common folk are celebrating in the courtyard just outside the keep. Lively music underscores the sounds of shouts and laughter, while jugglers and acrobats compete for space among the revelers. Fireworks glint through the hall’s high windows – the official display ended hours ago, but the townspeople will be shooting off their own all night.

When the eastern and western branches of the Titan army went to rendezvous with its aerial corps, it was instead met by one hundred hostile dragons, half of which were fire breathers. The battle was victorious and decisive. Sina stands – and, by extension, the nation stands.

It didn’t take long for his people to arrange a celebration. Even as his troops and a handful of feral volunteers clear the Titans out of their remaining countryside strongholds, those in the city are celebrating the newfound peace. And everyone is crediting Erwin as the man saved his nation and guaranteed that peace.

But it wasn’t him.

“I’m just thinking,” Erwin replies.

“Thinking is how he has fun,” Mike comments wryly from his other side.

“Well, what are you thinking about?” Hanji asks.

Erwin scans the hall once again, but the one he wants to find isn’t there. He hasn’t been all evening. Erwin didn’t truly expect to see him, and yet he can’t help but feel disappointed at his absence. “I’m thinking that I’d like to use this period of peace to build a library,” he says to Hanji.

“Erwin, I love libraries more than anything in the world, but now is not the time for you to be thinking about your future legislation.”

“And that I’d like to change our laws regarding how we treat dragons.” He drains his wine goblet and stands. “I believe I’m going to retire. The crowds are a bit much for me.”

There’s another cheer when Erwin rises, but he leaves before it can truly get started. Once in the corridors, the noise of the crowd diminishes to a dull, relatively peaceful-sounding mumble. He exits onto the castle grounds and takes a circuitous route to the dragon pavilion in order to avoid the other courtyard celebration.

Fireworks illuminate the pavilion with flickering light that reflect off dragon scales. It’s crowded tonight, filled with the dragons of aerial corps officers who are attending the feast inside. But Erwin finds Glory and Ravenna secluded in their own corner, their heads together as they communicate in low rumbles.

Glory’s head eagerly rises when he notices Erwin’s approach, and he gives Erwin an affectionate nuzzle. In the dim light, Erwin can just barely make out the scar on his neck. He’ll wear it for the rest of his life, and Erwin has already noticed that he’s become rather vain about it. He stands with his head raised, exposing his neck, whenever the opportunity presents itself.

“My dear Glory,” Erwin says, stroking his snout. “I hope you enjoyed your feast this evening.” Earlier that night, all the dragons present had been gifted with a few tons of fresh meat. After all, they were an essential part of the victory over the Titans, and they deserve a celebration as much as anyone. Glory gives a satisfied growl that tells Erwin just how much he enjoyed his meal.

Erwin smiles, stepping closer to Glory and allowing Glory to curl a foreleg around him. He glances over at Ravenna, expecting to see a slight human form by her side. But she’s alone.

“My own feast was a bit odd,” Erwin murmurs to Glory. “I know I should be happy . . . and I am immensely grateful that the war is over . . . but we both know I don’t hold complete responsibility for my victory.” Glory makes a noise that’s so offended it’s almost comical. “Don’t mistake me, I’m not trying to sell myself short. But we could never have dreamed of achieving victory without Levi. And now that we are at peace, I can’t help but feel somewhat uncertain. My whole reign I have been at war, all my energies and talents devoted to military campaigns. What will I be as a peacetime king?”

Glory nuzzles against him. He, at least, believes in Erwin, and though Glory doesn’t quite understand all that human kingship entails, his support is comforting. Erwin leans into the touch and wonders how he could have ever let himself drift apart from Glory. Then again, he had lost sight of much during the long wartime years.

After a few moments, Erwin turns to Ravenna. “I had hoped to find your human here,” he says to her. “Do you know where he is?”

Ravenna moves her head in a slow side to side to indicate no, which surprises Erwin. He had assumed Levi would seek to separate himself from the celebration by spending time with his dragon. If even Ravenna doesn’t know where he is, he’ll be impossible to track down.

Still, Erwin attempts to find him after saying goodnight to Glory. He seeks out any room in the castle that would be abandoned – libraries and sitting rooms and training rooms for soldiers – but to no avail. Levi doesn’t appear to be anywhere. It’s only when Erwin gives up his search and goes to his chambers that he finally finds the dragon speaker.

“Well,” Erwin says as he enters his personal rooms. “This is certainly an invasion of privacy.”

Levi doesn’t appear to feel the least bit of remorse for such an invasion. He’s in the front sitting room, a large space barely lit by a dying fire. The flames throw his pale face into stark contrast with the shadows around him, making him seem vivid and bright while everything else is dull and muted. This room stretches out for several yards behind where Levi sits, filled to the brim with plush furniture and expensive artwork, but the small circle of firelight puts all of that in darkness. Instead, the little space that is illuminated seems to be its own smaller, cozier room, containing nothing but the plum-colored carpet, the writing desk Levi sits at, and Levi himself.

Levi sits sideways at this desk, staring at the fireplace, one of Erwin’s quill pens in his hand. He twirls it around in his fingers, not deigning to look at Erwin. “Needed to see just how fancy a king’s chambers were,” he says.

“And what do you think? Are you properly disdainful now?”

Levi’s makes a derisive noise in the back of his throat. “Gold thread on the bedsheets? Really?”

“They were inherited.” Levi rolls his eyes. “Levi. Why are you really here?”

“I just told you.” Erwin crosses the room to where Levi sits. There’s a single folded piece of parchment on top of the desk, Erwin’s name written across it.

Levi stands and slams a hand on the parchment, blocking Erwin’s view of it. “I wanted to avoid saying this to your face.”

“Saying what?”

“I’m leaving.”

“I never thought you would stay.”

“Really? That’s it? No protests? No kingly demands?”

“Your life is your own. And I plan to pass a law that will free dragons from their obligation to the military, so it will be well within your rights to go where you wish and do as you please.” Levi looks up at him cautiously, as though waiting for some catch to all of this. “You’re right, Levi. Dragons bond to people, and people to dragons, without intending it. It is unfair to force unwilling dragons and riders to serve.” 

“Well. Glad you came to your senses,” Levi says.

“I wanted to give you and Ravenna the freedom you deserve.”

Levi’s eyes drop down. He grabs the letter off the desk. “Looks like I don’t need this, then.” He turns away from Erwin to approach the fire, where he drops the letter into the dying flames. Erwin senses that there was much more on that parchment than what was said out loud.

“When will you leave?” Erwin asks.

Levi shrugs without turning around. “Tomorrow morning, I guess.”

“Where will you go?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Erwin stares at Levi’s back, his head still bowed over the fire as he watches the lettert burn. He wears only a loose shirt and black trousers now, and without an over-tunic his form is unassuming. Delicate, almost, though Erwin knows there’s little that’s truly delicate about him. The firelight glints off his fine hair, highlights the curve of his neck. There’s an ache in Erwin that he can’t ignore. Perhaps this is one of the parts of his life that he had lost sight of during the war.

Words try to force their way out of Erwin, but he pushes them back down. He says instead, “I hope you’ll return to visit occasionally. I . . . Glory will miss Ravenna.”

“He will, huh?” Levi hasn’t turned away from the fire, though his letter is little but ash now.

“Yes. They’ve become quite good friends, as I’m sure you’ve noticed. They . . . Glory respects Ravenna.”

“Yeah?” Now Levi turns his head the slightest bit, just enough so that Erwin is in his vision. “Well, Ravenna respects Glory, too. Against her better judgment, really. But there’s no accounting for a dragon’s taste.”

“Little accounting for a human’s, either.”

“I should go.”

“Levi.” Levi doesn’t move. Erwin aches. But he won’t repeat what he did that night in his tent. He won’t take what Levi won’t freely give. “I . . . I can’t express my gratitude to you, Levi. This nation owes its very survival to you. You took on a task that you did not desire and stayed when you could have run. I – and every citizen of this nation – will forever be in your debt.”

Levi lets out a breath. He still stands facing away from Erwin, his head barely turned to the side, as though afraid to fully face him. “You make it sound so grand.”

“It was grand. You recruited the help of ferals and fire-breathers, and saved my life just in time. You will go down in history as a legend, as humanity’s strongest dragon speaker.”

“I don’t care about history.”

“I know.” He doesn’t understand everything about this enigmatic man, but that’s something he does understand – this man isn’t motivated by fame or a lust for recognition. He’s motivated, primarily, by the well-being of his dragon. He’s motivated by love.

“Before you go,” Erwin says, “I have to ask. How did you convince the red dragons to help us?”

Levi shrugs. “People say red dragons are such wild creatures, but they’re no more wild than any other dragon, and no more untamable than a stubborn human. You just have to convince them that a cause is worth fighting for. They won’t hesitate to help if they respect the person they’re helping.”

Erwin smiles. “In that sense, you’re not so different from a red dragon, yourself.”

Now, finally, Levi turns around. His face is in shadow, unreadable and just barely highlighted by the glow of the fire behind him. “And I suppose that makes you the one who managed to tame me.”

“No. No one could ever tame you,” Erwin says. “If anything, you’ve tamed me. You’ve taught me to earn respect. That I cannot take anything from anyone without first asking.”

“And what will you ask from me now?”

“Nothing. It would be selfish to ask for any more than what you’ve already given.”

“There’s nothing more that you want?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Levi takes a step forward, shrinking the gap between them. “Then what do you want?”

“I want whatever you will freely give,” Erwin says. “Whether that’s none of your life or all of it, I want whatever you deem fair.”

“And what will you give me in return?”

“Undying respect and appreciation, and a lifetime of seeing all your needs met. Anything you wish, if it is in my power to grant it, will be yours.”

“Oh, that’s all?” Levi says, sarcastic.

Erwin laughs. “That’s all.”

“I guess that’s fair.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“You know, I really hate kings.”

“Oh? Have you known many kings?”

“Just one.” Levi grips Erwin by the front of his shirt. “And he drives me insane.”

Their lips meet, and this – this is what Erwin had lost sight of. This is what Erwin had been aching for. Levi, pure and sweet and lovely. Levi’s breath in his mouth, Levi’s body in his grasp. The delicate form, the strong presence, every little detail that’s purely, wholly Levi. And Levi’s lips against his, the loveliest part of all, exploring his mouth with lingering, tentative movements. Their last kiss had been sudden and rushed, but now they have all night, and Levi seems to be taking advantage of that, drawing out and savoring this moment.

And the simple fact that Levi’s savoring it is overwhelming to Erwin. Levi, evidently, wants him. He holds Erwin’s shirt between his fist, threads the fingers of his other hand through Erwin’s hair tight enough to pull. And his lips are pushing deeper, lingering longer, exploring Erwin in the most passionate kiss he’s ever experienced. Levi – this amazing, complex, strong, beautiful, unimaginable man – wants Erwin in a way Erwin could have only dreamed of.

They break apart. Levi’s lips are reddened and wet, his pupils wide. Erwin stares at him, entranced, and Levi seems to stare as well.

“Is that all you want?” Levi asks, his voice a little breathless. It’s said rather like a challenge, though it’s unclear if he’s challenging Erwin or himself.

“What more will you give?” Erwin asks, returning the challenge. And Levi kisses him again.

This time it’s more heated, Levi’s lips pressed more possessively against Erwin’s. His hands travel down the muscles of Erwin’s chest, trailing fire in their wake. It drives Erwin to push the kiss deeper, straining for more of Levi’s touch, his breath, his warmth. Levi responds in kind, rising into the kiss and yanking Erwin possessively by the belt until their hips are pressed together.

Levi steps back – just barely – and pulls his shirt over his head. His skin is bare underneath, and he gives Erwin a challenging gaze, daring him to make his next move. Erwin allows himself to look, to admire. He takes in the taut pulls of Levi’s muscles in his abdomen and the slender shape of his arms, the delicate V of his hipbones and the bright little peaks of his nipples. As though in a trance, Erwin runs his fingers down Levi’s side.

“Is that all you’re going to do?” Levi taunts.

Erwin smiles and touches Levi’s bare skin again – soft, warm, pliant. “I plan on doing a little more,” he says.

He holds Levi’s sides in both hands and pulls him in again. His lips descend to a spot just above Levi’s collarbone, newly exposed. Erwin holds Levi tightly while he kisses this spot, wrapping his hands around Levi’s back and exploring his skin with his fingers. He’s gratified by the sound of soft gasps in response to each new movement of his lips. Levi’s muscles relax under Erwin’s touch, and the knowledge that he’s relaxing because of him – _for_ him – only spurs Erwin on. He spreads kisses across Levi’s neck and chest, massages a nipple with his thumb, anything to bring out more of those soft, lovely gasps.

Delicate fingers tug at Erwin’s tunic, a request. And he’ll grant it. He’ll grant Levi anything he wants. He and Levi work together, fingers bumping into each other, to unbuckle Erwin’s belt and unlace his tunic, pull off his shirt.

Levi’s fingers skirt over Erwin’s bare chest and abs. His eyes are focused, studying every dip and curve of Erwin’s torso. Erwin watches as he does so, feeling as though he awaits a verdict. For the first time, Erwin notices how heavily his heart is beating. Levi’s palm flattens over his chest, and Erwin wonders if he feels it, too.

Then Levi seems to come out of his trance. He flicks one of Erwin’s nipples, causing it to sting, and says, “Not bad. For a king.”

“And what would it take to truly impress you?”

Levi closes the distance between them and presses his lips against Erwin’s chest. He does so again and again, covering every inch of Erwin’s skin with his devotion. And there it is – his verdict. Erwin had no reason to fear it. Levi, if these worshipful kisses are to be believed, is as attracted to Erwin as Erwin is to him. His lips curve around the nipple he flicked, soothing it, his tongue brushing over and over it in gentle apology.

“Levi,” Erwin breathes out. He stiffens at the sound of his own voice, wanton and vulnerable, halfway between a moan and a cry. So unlike how his usual, controlled self that it scares him. But Levi’s worship doesn’t stop as he trails kisses down Erwin’s ribs, and after a moment Erwin relaxes again. His vulnerability is safe in Levi’s hands.  

Erwin tucks two fingers under Levi’s chin and lifts his head. Levi allows this and then looks up, waiting. Trusting. He opens his mouth as Erwin bends down for another kiss, a reward for Levi’s worship.

When they break apart Levi asks, “What more do you want?”

Erwin’s heart pounds as he whispers, “What more will you give?”

Without lowering his gaze, Levi’s fingers travel down to the laces of Erwin’s trousers. Erwin understands, moves his own fingers to the hem of Levi’s pants. They shed the rest of their clothes at the same time, exposing themselves equally to each other.

Levi’s hands dance down Erwin’s hips, up his legs. A palm slides down Erwin’s ass and squeezes the spot where it meets his thigh. Erwin delights himself in watching Levi’s face as he does this – the widened eyes, the breathless mouth.

“Enjoying yourself?” Erwin murmurs in Levi’s ear. The squeeze transforms into a rather painful pinch, and Erwin chuckles.

“Don’t get fucking full of yourself,” Levi says.

Erwin brushes his fingertips down Levi’s hips and thighs. There doesn’t seem to be an inch of Levi’s skin that doesn’t feel heavenly. “It’s hard not to when such a beautiful man is choosing to be with me,” Erwin says.

Then he drops to his knees, holding Levi tightly by the hips, and showers kisses on his stomach. His navel. His hipbones and the curve of his thigh. He stays away from the place he really wants to kiss – he’ll stay away until he’s invited. He would, though. He would take Levi into his mouth until he wrung the last bit of pleasure from him. He would do anything, any act of service for Levi’s happiness.

Levi’s hands rake through Erwin’s hair and, softly, he breathes Erwin’s name.

Erwin pauses what he’s doing. He allows himself to look at Levi’s cock, slender and starting to harden. “What more will you give?” he asks quietly.

Levi takes a breath. He steps away, and for a moment Erwin’s heart sinks. But then he takes one of Erwin’s hands and pulls, signaling Erwin to stand and follow him. Together, they enter the bedroom.

The four-poster bed is covered in blue silk embroidered with images of dragons in gold thread. Levi pauses beside it and Erwin stands next to him, his hands laced before him to ensure that he’ll keep them for himself until Levi specifies what he wants.

“You’ll only take what I give?” Levi asks.

“And not the slightest thing more.”

Levi nods. “I think I knew that. That’s why . . .”

“Why what?”

But Levi doesn’t answer. Instead, he steps up to the bed. He hesitates for a second – but no more than that – before lying on it. Facedown.

The breath leaves Erwin’s lungs. He waits for Levi to give some kind of explanation besides what’s being implying, because there’s no way Levi truly wants that. Levi lies with his back unprotected, his legs spread out behind him, his ass displayed.

“Levi?”

Levi turns his head to face Erwin, his forehead cradled on his arms. “Are you going to take what I’m giving you or not?”

“Are you sure?”

Levi nods. “Against my better judgment, positive.”

Erwin takes a step closer. Tentatively, he runs his fingers down Levi’s spine – and then lower, brushing over the unblemished skin on his ass, cupping a cheek. Levi’s eyes flutter closed, and Erwin’s heart misses a few beats.

He can’t believe what he’s being offered. Sex he can understand – he assumed that was where this night was going. But sex like this, with Levi in the most vulnerable position possible, is beyond his understanding. Levi’s proud, and harsh, and guarded around everyone but his dragon. And Erwin can’t understand why he chose to be vulnerable before Erwin, of all people. “You want to – I mean, you want me to . . .”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?”

Erwin exhales. “No.” His fingers dance over Levi’s skin. “No. Just . . . just one moment.”

There’s oil in this room . . . somewhere. Erwin hurries to his dresser and begins searching through drawers. If Levi’s asking him to do this, he’s going to do it right.

There’s a soft noise coming from Levi. A laugh. Levi’s face is down on the bed when Erwin returns, but a subtle shake in his abdomen betrays his mirth.

Erwin crawls onto the bed. He kisses Levi’s bare shoulder. Then, because Levi’s too beautiful to resist, he kisses it again. “What’s so funny?”

“I expected a king to be more suave.”

“I was a bit caught off guard. You don’t exactly let yourself be vulnerable often.”

“Couldn’t find your oil, huh? Been a while?”

Erwin kisses Levi’s shoulder again, this time scraping his teeth across the skin as punishment. “I’ve been a bit busy recently. But thanks to you, I now have time for . . .” Erwin experimentally pushes a finger against Levi’s entrance, and Levi gives a satisfying hiss in response. “For other pursuits,” he finishes.

He presses in again, a little deeper, and Levi arches into his touch. His muscles seem to go limp, arms spreading out before him and gripping the top of the pillow with slender fingers. Erwin quickly covers his fingers with oil, and Levi turns his head to the side to watch. Erwin takes the opportunity to give Levi a kiss, bending down to catch his mouth at the same time that he slides a finger deep inside him.

Levi opens himself to Erwin, spreading his mouth wide to welcome his tongue and pressing his backside up into the air. Erwin moves slowly – he won’t risk hurting Levi. And as Levi squirms under his touch, gasping and rocking his hips, he looks so incredibly beautiful that Erwin thinks he’d be content with this, and nothing more.

But Levi is offering him more.

Erwin positions himself over Levi when he’s done preparing him, knees on either side of Levi’s thighs. One hand props him up on the bed while the other trails up and down Levi’s side, unable to lift away from heavenly feel of Levi’s skin. Levi turns his head to look up at Erwin, and Erwin can do nothing but return that lovely silver gaze.

Levi’s expression is softer than usual, and he looks at Erwin with – with something that Erwin doesn’t quite recognize. A steady expectation, a firm understanding. Affection softening the usually hard glint in his eye. Levi knows what he’s giving – the vulnerable position it puts him in – and he knows that he won’t regret doing so.

Trust, Erwin realizes as he bends down to kiss the corner of Levi’s mouth, his neck, his jaw. Levi’s looking at him with trust.

Still kissing him, Erwin lines himself up with Levi’s entrance, cock pushing against his skin. Levi closes his eyes and breathes in.

“Ready?” Erwin asks.

“Been ready,” Levi breathes. And so Erwin enters him.

Erwin gasps at the first hint of sensation, and it’s all he can do not to cry out as he pushes deeper inside Levi. It’s more amazing than Erwin could have imagined – tight and warm, the pressure unbelievable. He moves in slowly, hears himself let out a moan. Levi’s mouth has dropped open, and Erwin can feel him tensing underneath him, legs flexing, fingers curling.

He’s beautiful. He’s so incredibly beautiful. Erwin pulls out again, slowly, savoring the pull of skin against skin, and then pushes back in. Deeper than before, nearly up to his base, and now Levi makes a quiet cry, the sound so sweet that it makes Erwin’s heart ache.

“Is this good?” he asks in Levi’s ear.

“Fuck. Fuck, yes. Keep going.”

“Tell me if it becomes uncomfortable,” Erwin says, already pulling out, eager to hear that little cry again.

“Stop being so fucking careful and just fuck me,” Levi demands.

“You’re so precious, I can’t help wanting to be careful,” Erwin says. He pushes into Levi again, and there it is – that beautiful cry. Levi’s harsh voice softened such a gentle sound.

He drapes himself over Levi, feels Levi’s body rippling under his skin. Every movement is a treasure – every time that gorgeous back arches, every time his legs curl up, every time his ass bucks against Erwin’s hips. Erwin presses kisses into Levi’s cheek and jaw and the edge of his lips. He thinks he speaks, though he’s not thinking about what comes out of his mouth. If he forms any words, then it’s only a litany of what’s running through his mind – repetitions of the word “beautiful,” or perhaps Levi’s name whispered like a prayer.

And occasionally he’ll lift his head just to get a full view of Levi, gold thread glinting around soft skin. Hair splayed out on the pillow, mouth slightly open and lips red and glistening from Erwin’s numerous kisses. And Erwin will look down at the spot where they’re joined, and a tremor will fill him that spurs him to push deeper, faster. To have Levi in every way Levi will allow. And Erwin will yet again shower him with reverent kisses, gratitude for all he’s allowed.

Time loses all meaning; it could be seconds or hours or days since he began moving within Levi. Erwin, always so alert to what’s happening around him, loses sight of everything except this beautiful man. And in this moment he’s no longer a king, and Levi no longer his subject – they are only two men relishing the privilege of being with each other. Of trusting each other.

And when they climax, they do so almost in sync, Erwin lifted by his bliss at the same time he feels Levi tense underneath him. He spills into Levi, and Levi mars the gold thread. And Erwin will remember how Levi looks during that moment until the day he dies.

Then they lie beside each other, weak and spent and reveling in what they did together. Erwin continues kissing Levi, lazily trailing his lips across the back of his neck. Levi’s next to him, his back to Erwin’s front, body limp in Erwin’s arms. Erwin listens to his breathing even out and holds him close, murmuring, “Beautiful.”

“You’ve said that already,” Levi says. His voice is soft and drowsy, no bite left to it.

Erwin chuckles. “Then I suppose I’ll have to think of other words for you. Gorgeous. Lovely. Exquisite.”

Levi gently elbows Erwin in the side, and Erwin chuckles again. Then Levi turns onto his back and treats Erwin to another sight he thought he’d never be privileged enough to see – a smile.

“What?” Levi asks, and catching Erwin staring.

“You have the most exquisite smile.”

Levi rolls his eyes. “Don’t get sentimental on me.” But a little color creeps into Levi’s cheeks, and Erwin kisses that color until he smiles again.

Levi turns over onto his other side now, facing Erwin, fingers pressed against Erwin’s chest. Erwin could lie like this forever.

“Levi,” Erwin whispers. Levi’s eyes flick up from where they had been focused on Erwin’s chest. “Why?” Erwin’s afraid that if he says more, he’ll break the magic of this moment, but Levi knows what he’s asking. Why sleep with Erwin – why give himself to someone he’s had such a contentious relationship with?

Levi’s eyes drop again, and his fingers trail across Erwin’s abs. “Your hose are too tight. I could tell you had a big dick and I wanted to try it out.”

Erwin snorts, and a little smile plays around Levi’s lips in response – a smile Erwin has to kiss. “Ok, now the real answer,” he says.

Levi shrugs. “When dragons choose a rider, it’s based on a lot of things – who’s nearby when they hatch, and if they have anything the dragon might want, like food. If they’re kind and gentle with the hatchling. But at the end of the day, someone could do all those things and the dragon will still turn around and choose someone else. Because dragons have good intuition, and they can tell who’s going to respect them. Who’s going to treat them with fairness, and listen to them, and see that their needs are met.” He shrugs again. “I don’t have as good intuition as a dragon. It took me a while to figure all that out with you.”

“Levi,” Erwin breathes. “Thank you.”

“What’d I say about getting sentimental?” Levi grumbles. But even as he speaks, Erwin can see Levi shift slightly closer as his eyelids droop closed. Erwin wonders if this means he’ll be sleeping in Erwin’s bed tonight. Yet another incredible gift he could have never expected to receive.

“You should go to sleep, especially if you’re going to be traveling tomorrow,” Erwin says gently.

“Hm?” Levi’s eyes flutter open. “Oh, that. I don’t think I’m leaving, after all.”

Erwin feels his heart jump. He’d pick Levi up and spin him around in joy if Levi didn’t look so comfortable right now. “Really?”

“Yeah.” Levi shrugs. “Ravenna would miss Glory.”

Erwin chuckles. “And Glory would miss Ravenna.”

“Can’t let our dragons be sad.”

“No, we certainly can’t.”

Erwin kisses Levi’s forehead and watches as his face softens while he dozes off. Erwin’s smiling to himself as he does the same, unable to fully believe what he’s been blessed with – his country safe, his people happy. And his dragon speaker asleep in his arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awwww a happy ending <3 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who left kudos and lovely comments!


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